Why Did Jim Bakker’s Son Skip His Funeral? Their Complicated Relationship, Explained

The simplest explanation for why Jay Bakker didn't attend the funeral for his father — famed televangelist Jim Bakker — is that he'd already gotten the chance to say goodbye.

"I was able to come out and see my pops, see Dad, and we were able to have some great conversations," Jay said in a video he filmed to play at the service, a part of which he also posted to social media.

"I was able to say goodbye," he added. "That's why I'm not there today."

But the full story is much more complicated. These two had a father-son relationship that was complex and often painful.

Jim Bakker, Star of Christian Television, Dead at 86

Jim Bakker died on Oct. 5 in Branson, Mo. He was 86 years old.

His wife, Lori Beth Graham Bakker, announced his death on social media, saying that he "went home to be with the Lord." No cause of death was immediately available, but according to People, he was receiving hospice care before he died.

Bakker and his first wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, launched a Christian television program called The PTL Club (short for Praise the Lord Club) in 1974. They became two of America's most popular televangelists as the show grew into a massive religious broadcasting platform and theme park empire.

In the late 1980s, Bakker was indicted on 24 counts of mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the public. He was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to 45 years in prison, though he ultimately served five.

Tammy Faye divorced him while he was incarcerated, but Bakker ultimately remarried, returned to television and hosted The Jim Bakker Show.

Who Is Jim Bakker's Son, Jay Bakker?

Jay Bakker is one of two children that Jim Bakker welcomed with his first wife, Tammy Faye. He was born in 1975, five years after the birth of the couple's first child, Tammy Sue.

Jay and Tammy Sue both grew up around the PTL ministry and made frequent appearances on The PTL Club as children.

After Bakker's divorce and remarriage, he and his second wife Lori welcomed five more children via adoption. Those children have been raised primarily away from the spotlight.

Why Did Jim Bakker Have a "Complicated" Relationship With His Son Jay?

In multiple social media posts after Bakker's death, Jay acknowledged that their relationship was complex.

Jay Bakker was born the year after his parents launched The PTL Club, and as he grew up, Jim and Tammy Faye ascended into celebrity status. He was a child as they built their multi-million-dollar empire.

Jim Bakker's Scandals + Legal Troubles Affected His Son Jay as a Child

The first investigation of The PTL Club came in 1979 — when Jay was five — as the FCC looked into an alleged misuse of funds raised on air. Reports and investigations continued in the years that followed, but no official action was taken until a scandal broke in 1987 regarding The PTL Club and a rape allegation against Bakker and PTL co-host John Wesley Fletcher.

• A church secretary named Jessica Hahn accused Bakker and Fletcher of luring her into a hotel room in 1980, where she was drugged and raped by Bakker.
• Hahn said she was given a hush money payment of $279,000, which came out of PTL funds.
• Bakker resigned from PTL and admitted to the sexual relationship, but said that it was consensual.

As this scandal played out, Bakker was also fielding mounting evidence of misuse of fundraising money and overselling "lifetime memberships" and "exclusive partnerships," while much of the money went to his company's operating expenses and his personal pocketbook.

He was indicted and convicted, but his sentence was ultimately reduced.

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The public fallout for Bakker was enormous, and his son Jay has said that he struggled with drugs and alcohol as a teen as he grappled with his family's scandalized public image.

Jay got sober and pursued ministry, but he and his father clashed over their different beliefs within the church.

Jim Bakker + His Son Jay Disagreed Over the LGBTQ+ Community and More

Jay Bakker founded the Revolution Church in Phoenix in 1994, but he embraced a more liberal Christian view than his father's The PTL Club messaging.

Jay's church advocates for and welcomes the LGBTQ+ community, and his visual presentation differs vastly from Jim Bakker's buttoned-up, conservative appearance. Jay is heavily tattooed and pierced.

He has released multiple books and starred in a 2006 documentary series titled One Punk Under God.

Though he and his televangelist father have had significant differences, he's never disavowed Jim Bakker.

After Bakker's death, Jay shared a photo of them together when Jay was a young child, writing simply, "Goodbye dad."