By now, you’ve undoubtedly heard about Lexi’s hit show on The Word Network. She’s a hard-hitting journalist, asking tough questions and getting honest answers.
I recently got the chance to catch up with Lexi, to ask about her show, her explosive interview with Tonex and the backlash from it, and her take on her role as a journalist.
I’m now an even BIGGER support of this woman of God (oh, and today’s her birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!). I think you’ll enjoy our chat, too. Here’s Lexi…
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EJ: Hi, how are you?
Lexi: I’m good. How are you?
EJ: I’m good, thank ya. I want to, first, thank you for chatting with me. I’m sure you’re pretty busy.
Lexi: A lil’ bit. *laughs*
EJ: I know it! Well, let’s get right to it… I wanna chat about your show. You have, of course, been successful as a vocalist in the gospel industry, but journalism also seems to be such a natural fit for you– have you always had aspirations to do this?
Lexi: No. No, I didn’t even know that this is what I wanted to do. I had no clue at all. I kinda just fell into it.
EJ: How did The Lexi Show come about?
Lexi: Through a relationship with Lewis Gibbs (of The Word Network). My late husband and I had done a jingle for The Word Network and that opened the door.
I was watching The Word Network after that, and I saw someone interview Karen Clark-Sheard and he kept calling her “Karen Clark,” and she kept saying “I’m Karen Clark-SHEARD.” *laughing*
EJ: Wow. *laughing*
Lexi: And I was asking myself “why doesn’t this person know who she is?! Why is interviewing her and he doesn’t know his stats?” You know? It just made me angry. So I called Lewis and I said “listen, there’s somebody on your network that is interviewing these artists, these friends and peers of mine, and they don’t know their stuff.”
And it made me angry because, you know, I always use the example of sportscasters on ESPN. They know the stats of these athletes, they know the players, they know the teams… and why is this guy not giving the same respect to gospel artists?!
EJ: Right.
Lexi: So, I said “you know what? Give me an opportunity to do it. I’ll be at the Bobby Jones retreat, it won’t cost you a dime… just give me a chance to do it.” He said “have you ever done TV?” And I said “no, but I can do better than THAT guy!”
EJ: *laughs* Basically!
Lexi: And he said “we’ll see.” We got down there and he allowed me to do a couple of interviews and they were fantastic because they were my FRIENDS, so it just kinda flowed. The interviews were better than they had been, so he was like “oh okay!”
So, the guy who had been doing them, he got a little jealous. He was supposed to do the 4pm-6pm timeslot of interviews and he just didn’t show up.
EJ: Nooooooooo! Are you serious?!
Lexi: Yeah, he got really P.O.’ed. So, he didn’t show up. They called me in my hotel room, and my husband and I were taking a nap cuz it had been a long day. And something TOLD me not take my make-up off… *laughs*
EJ: *laughing*
Lexi: And I hate to sleep in make-up. But something told me “don’t take it off.” And Lewis Gibbs called me and said “are ya busy?” I said “takin’ a nap with my hubby.” He said “can you come back down?” And my husband said “uh huh… this is where it starts.”
EJ: Wow.
Lexi: After that, shortly after that, my husband passed and it changed my life. I was depressed and on medication… I’m not ashamed to say it. I was taking PILLS… anything to get this pain off of me.
EJ: Sure.
Lexi: I was really messed up and depressed, wouldn’t leave my home… One day, Lewis called me and asked what I was doing. I said “absolutely NOTHING.” He asked if I could cover the backstage area of the Stellar Awards and I said “I might as well.”
It gave me the chance to get out of the house and do something different. I did it, they thought it was good, and that started it. After that, I did a couple of things for them and I said “you know, one day, you guys are gonna give me my own show.”
EJ: *laughs*
Lexi: He laughed because The Word Network doesn’t do that. They don’t do original programming– they just air ministries. They don’t put money into that… into developing original programming. But a year later, he gave me the opportunity. He said “we’re not gonna pay for any of it, do it on your own, but you’ve got 30 minutes of free airtime.”
They gave it to me on a Saturday, when no one watches. *laughing*
EJ: And you did it on your own budget?
Lexi: With my own money. Yeah! And he said “air what you wanna air, and do YOU.” I didn’t know what to do with it, exactly, but I knew a couple of camera people, took my own money, said “this is what I can pay y’all,” and it started.
I didn’t know what direction to take, I just knew I wanted to talk to people. I didn’t want to be the next “Oprah,” I had no intentions of doing anything similar to that. But I love people and everybody has a story. If you talk to them long enough, anybody over 30… they can tell you SOMETHING. Whatever it is– and it’s not always as sensational as the latest stories that I’ve done, but PEOPLE are sensational.
EJ: Absolutely. While we’re talking about “sensational,” lemme tell you– your new season premiered last month and you stepped onto the scene so ferociously! *laughing*
Lexi: *laughs* Oh Lordy!
EJ: I want to ask you about what has become one of the most explosive pieces of journalism we’ve seen in gospel in a very long time– your interview with Tonex.
Lexi: Yeah.
EJ: Many people have seen it by now, it was on TV, on the web… Tonex was very candid and honest with you about his artistry, his motivations and, perhaps most widely discussed, his sexuality. As you interviewed him, and you heard him say things that you KNEW would cause the industry to give him the side-eye, what ran through your mind?
Lexi: Umm… I was as shocked as everybody else was.
EJ: No. Really? Well, you maintained your composure.
Lexi: I had to! You don’t see journalists on Dateline and 20/20 fallin’ over chairs, like we know how to do… like, “awww, Laawwwwd!” That was going on inside.
I’ve known Tonex for years and we always keep it real. I don’t plan my interviews at all. I had a couple of things in mind that I wanted to ask. And I told him “we’re going to talk about the rumors about your divorce, and about your dad, and about the mental breakdown.” THAT’S what we were gonna talk about.
EJ: Right.
Lexi: And I thought we were gonna have a little tit-for-tat because I know him. And we like to do this witty banter together.
EJ: *laughing*
Lexi: Yeah, I thought we were gonna have this creative witty banter and talk about the wigs and platform heels, dah dah dah… I was going to ask questions about homosexuality and ask what he thinks about that.
Because we’ve talked about it before and he said “people are making me mad because they accuse me of being gay” and he seemed to deny it then. So, I thought he was gonna do the same thing. But, he didn’t do it.
EJ: RIGHT!
Lexi: So, when he said “I don’t struggle”… WHOA! Wait a minute. And I caught that and thought “lemme ask it another way.” And I said “do you sleep with men?” And he said “I don’t SLEEP… with MEN…” I said “whoa, where is this kat going…”
EJ: *laughing*
Lexi: And so I said “do you practice homosexuality,” and he said “what, like a piano?” So, I thought “okay, witty banter… we’re there.” So, I went for it and asked if he was attracted to men, and that’s when he went there. And the whole thing changed.
I didn’t know we were going there. I’m still surprised now. *laughs* And we did that months ago.
EJ: Sure. And now, it’s big news.
Lexi: I’ve gotten a lot of hate mail. Hate mail has come in from the SAINTS. I’ve been called a “fat b****”…
EJ: WHAT?!
Lexi: Oh yeah. Yeah, I’ve been cussed out. People are saying I have a Jezebel spirit, that I’m allowing the devil to use me for the gay agenda… umm… oh yeah, the hate mail is coming in by the droves.
EJ: From the good ol’ Christians?
Lexi: The good ol’ Christians. Gotta love ‘em. And I’m hitting them back, saying “I’m a journalist. I’m not gonna sit up there and debate with anybody about what they believe. I’m going to allow them to tell their story.”
And the Bible says we PERISH because of a lack of knowledge. You never would’ve known this had I not done the interview. So, what are you going to do with it? Are you going to continue to write me letters, or are you going to get on your knees and PRAY about something that you think should be prayed about?
EJ: Wow.
Lexi: Handle it. And stop writing me, because when it’s your time and it’s “One-On-One with Ben” or “One-On-One with Sarah,” then you can do your own show. But until then, I’m going to continue to do what I do.
Well, why did I do that?! They hit me back with “oh, you are HORRIBLE. I will NEVER watch… dah dah dah.” I hit ‘em back with two words “don’t agree.”
EJ: Sure. I wrote a post about that, too… about how we, as a Body of Believers, sometimes use hate-filled words to push the agenda of holiness. I’m all for holding up the blood-stained banner, but you can’t do it hatefully.
Lexi: No, you can’t. And that’s what I’m trying to say. But some people aren’t feelin’ that. And I keep telling people– I’m the right person for this job. Because I’m THIS CLOSE to cussing you out.
EJ: *laughs*
Lexi: *laughing* But I won’t do it because it’ll be all over everything and I’ll lose my credibility. I love Jesus, but that’s one of my things. Some people smoke and drink, hey… I liked to cuss. That’s my thing. You know? That’s my thing and so I have to really watch myself.
I don’t do the hate thing. And Jesus never did that. He NEVER did that, so where are we getting that? But when I say that, it’s “you’re advocating!” Whatever. I’m over you. NEXT!
EJ: Basically.
Lexi: And here’s what folks forget– you forget what YOU did. You mean to tell me you haven’t done anything? See, I know what I do. If I knew you a little better, we could talk. *laughing*
EJ: *laughing*
Lexi: So, I just don’t judge because I need SO much mercy, SO much grace every single day. I’m so not perfect. And I can’t stand when people act like they haven’t done anything, like their walk is SO perfect. It makes me angry.
EJ: Yep.
Lexi: It couldn’t be further from the truth, but they hide behind their little web posts and their positions. I got an email from a youth pastor– “I’m a youth pastor and I can’t believe this. Do you have any idea how many people are gonna want to follow Tonex?”
That’s your JOB, sir. As a youth pastor, that’s a platform for you to go to your youth ministry and say “hey, I know we listen to Tonex’s music, but I don’t agree with this, let me tell you what the word says.” It’s a platform for you to teach. I mean… just STOP IT!
EJ: *laughs* Oh, you’re HILARIOUS! How do you prepare for an interview? Do you just show up, or what kind of homework are you doing beforehand?
Lexi: That’s a good question. I love doing my homework. For some of these artists, it’s a no-brainer because I know them. But for other people, like I had to do something about Rev. Ike when he died, I had to really study stuff on the internet to learn more about him.
I have to do my research and get my own take on the person. Then, I ask the questions that I wanna know. And usually, the questions that I wanna know the answers to, they’re what everybody wants to know. But I do lots of research.
EJ: Well, it shows. I’ve just been so thoroughly impressed with your show. Even from the very beginning, as my wife and I watched, we just marveled at the professionalism behind it. Even down to, as I said in my earlier post about it, the jazzy intro– I was so glad you didn’t have some hyper-churchified intro music.
Lexi: Can’t do it.
EJ: *laughs* I got a little backlash for that from someone, like “what’s wrong with CHURCH music?!”
Lexi: I saw that! I can’t take it.
EJ: *laughs* Right. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it was refreshing to see you doing it your way. And the interviews– I thought “finally, here’s a journalist in the gospel community who demonstrates a professionalism on par with those we consider excellent in the mainstream media.”
Lexi: Thank you, EJ.
EJ: I mean it. And I wish you all the best in this new season. I think programs like yours, with motivations like yours, are needed in the gospel and Christian community.
Lexi: Wow.
EJ: And I appreciate you for chatting with me.
Lexi: Oh, man… I love you. I love your website.
EJ: Thank you so much!
Lexi: Yes! You’re awesome.
EJ: I appreciate it. And we’ll talk soon… maybe I’ll see you at one of these events with a mic in your hand.
Lexi: For sure. Thanks, EJ.
EJ: No doubt. Bye!
Lexi: Bye.
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So, that’s that!
Umm… can you imagine Christians being so angry with her that they would cuss her out for not checking Tonex about his sin? How backwards is that?!
Y’all, keep praying cuz we (the Body) need help.
But before you do, lemme know what you thought of the interview! 
BeBe Winans has been cleared of all charges related to allegations of domestic assault against his former wife, Debra. According to an official statement I’ve just received from BeBe’s camp, the case was dismissed on Friday, December 4th, and is now closed.
I’m gonna declare it– we have not seen journalism like this in the gospel music industry in a long time, if ever. Oh, and lemme say KUDOS TO YOU, Lexi, for not having some churchified intro music!
He seemed to acknowledge that he’s in a journey of living and learning. He said “before I say ‘this is what I am, this is the only thing I’ll be,’ I’ll say AT THIS STAGE, this is what it is. So everyone can just breathe and relax on your show and say, Tonex said, ‘yes, he’s attracted to men. Yes, he has experienced gay sex before. But that’s the least of who this man of God is.”
