To be fair, we've all probably had a few life moments that, if photographed and presented without full context, would make many people say, "What the hell?" This might just be Bishop Larry Trotter's.
The image of the mega-church pastor in the tub with his young granddaughter horrified Instagram followers, many of whom found it "inappropriate." But Trotter, who says that he and the child were both in swim trunks, her mother was present and he didn't intend for the photo to go public, is just as disturbed by what he calls the "vulgarity" of the reaction. From Clutch magazine:
The senior pastor of mega-church Sweet Holy Spirit Church in Chicago, Illinois, did not take the accusations of impropriety lightly. He appeared on the John Hannah Morning Show, saying that he and his granddaughter, who is four years of age, both had on swim trunks and her mother was present during the small five-minute window in which the little girl was in the tub. He also maintains another family member uploaded the photo to his account. He said the backlash has made the last couple of days a "dark" and "hurtful" time for him.
Though the Bishop admits the picture was "unwise," he says it was not uncommon to share bathwater when he was growing up. And he thinks it is awful that the picture has been interpreted in such a negative way: "I'm not ashamed of what I did. I am ashamed and hurt that it is going out all over the world and people have called me everything from a child molestor to a to a narsty old man and how I should get out of the ministry — the vulgarity has been terrible."
He promises to never do "it" again and also not to let anyone else have access to his Instagram page.
Is this misplaced Internet outrage over an innocent moment? Hopefully. After all, people who are being legitimately creepy don't normally document their behavior with photo shoots, right? A simple matter or bad judgment, maybe? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
Read more at Clutch magazine.