Texas Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church took to Twitter Monday to defend embattled televangelist Joel Osteen, who was accused of “refusing” Hurricane Harvey victims to take refuge at his Houston arena, which can seat nearly 17,000 people last week. Osteen later clarified his church wasn’t safe to house displaced people, but the backlash has been long-lasting.

Young had a simple message for people who criticized Osteen and his church: “Hatters gon’ hate.”

“I want to give a big shout out to Joel Osteen and Lakewood. I think what’s happening now in so much of the media and so much of social media about him is absolutely a joke,” he said in the video. “I’ve known the Osteen family for decades. Joel is an amazing guy. They have an unbelievable church and this is the typical media response. Little people with little vision always go after big people with big vision.”

According to Young, Osteen and his church have done their part to help the tens of thousands of people who were displaced by Harvey last week. “Lakewood is stepping up and helping people. Scores and scores of churches are helping people in Houston and around the world. Let’s get together, man. Let’s stop the hate. It’s absolutely pathetic,” the pastor said. “So, Joel, keep on doing what you’re doing. Lakewood, keep on taking turf for the kingdom of God. Haters gon’ hate, especially when you’re doing great.”

The clip was liked more than 1,700 times by Young’s 614,000 followers. He followed up his post with a tweet the following day. “When you do things God’s way, you get God’s results,” Young penned.

Osteen explained to his following during his sermon Sunday that Lakewood was not safe to open until Aug. 29. “I’m a peace with taking the heat for being precautious. But I don’t want to take the heat for being foolish. It’s easy for people to make judgments from a distance without having all the information,” he said.

“Some people that don’t know the facts and don’t want to know the facts will continue to try to stir things up,” Osteen said. “They would love to discredit the ministry and lessen our voice, but can I tell ya, they’re not that strong. The forces that are for us are great than the forces that are against us.”

While their doors weren’t opened to victims immediately after the storm hit, Lakewood Church was active on Twitter where they asked their 208,000 followers to donate nonperishable foods, baby supplies, water, hygiene products and more. They also asked for volunteers to help with the recovery effort.

“Today, know that God is with you. Look to Him for help. #TodaysWord,” the church tweeted Tuesday. “Let’s join together to help our city recover. If you have a willing heart and willing hands,” Lakewood wrote the day before.

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella

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