MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell claims that he is apparently losing prospective partnerships with churches because of a report earlier this year from The Daily Mail alleging that he had a secret months-long romantic relationship with actress Jane Krakowski. Lindell has sued The Daily Mail over their story, and he included the claim about strained relationships with churches in an updated version of his defamation lawsuit filed this week. Krakowski and Lindell have both denied the allegation that they had a secret relationship.
Originally, Lindell claimed in his defamation lawsuit that the allegations from The Daily Mail caused “tremendous harm to his personal and professional reputation and prospective economic opportunities, as well as causing him significant humiliation and emotional distress.” Lindell singled out a claim from the publication that he had gifted alcohol to Krakowski in the context of their alleged relationship. Lindell has been vocal about his status as “a recovering addict and alcoholic,” as he put it in the defamation lawsuit, which added that he was “horrified by the Defendants’ fabricated and very public accusations.”
The alleged impact from The Daily Mail’s allegations on Lindell’s relationships with churches came via the Lindell Recovery Network, a nonprofit organization that “provides services for various forms of addiction,” as described by Lindell’s suit, which adds that his “name is attached to the network and his personal story as a Christian who came back from his addiction to become a success is emphasized.” Lindell now claims that churches who might otherwise partner with the Lindell Recovery Network “may be pulling out because of Defendants’ allegations about” him. Specifically, the lawsuit now adds that partnerships with only “a handful of churches” have gotten going.
Lindell is a prominent supporter of ex-President Donald Trump, and he continues to claim — contrary to all available evidence — that widespread fraud swung the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. Lindell claimed earlier this year that Trump would be back in office as president by August because supposed evidence of the imaginary election fraud would soon be revealed. According to Lindell, he expects his pillow company to miss out on $65 million this year alone because of a slew of retail companies cutting ties with MyPillow over his delusional and anti-democratic antics.
Meanwhile, The Daily Mail has already sought the dismissal of Lindell’s defamation lawsuit. In a filing earlier this month, the publication derided the idea that their story alone was uniquely responsible for damage to Lindell’s reputation. As the publication put it, Lindell “ventured beyond pillow sales to become a peddler of an unproven COVID-19 “cure,” and a leading proponent of baseless election fraud theories.” Then, “stores dropped his company’s product after Plaintiff was photographed leaving the White House in January 2021 with a notepad referencing “martial law,”” and his issues go on from there.
