On Monday, Sapp claimed on The Rickey Smiley Morning Show that false narratives have emerged about him and the large sum he asked congregants and viewers to help raise for the church. Some have even confronted the Grammy-winning gospel artist over his viral remarks, which have led to safety concerns for him and his family.

“People have called my church and cussed me out. My staff are afraid because I’ve received death threats,” he said during the interview. “People have come to our campus. They have come to my church to try to cause problems, issues, (and) challenges.”

The death threats have caused safety concerns for Sapp

Sapp is the senior pastor of The Chosen Vessel Church in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2003, he founded Lighthouse Full Life Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he pastored alongside his late wife, Dr. MaLinda Prince Sapp, until she died of colon cancer in 2010, according to Magic 104.9.

After nearly 20 years as a solo parent, the 58-year-old said social media backlash and death threats have placed a strain on his family.

“When you have millions of followers, you don’t have time to read all the comments, but my children do,” Sapp said. “They are afraid. I’m their only parent. I’m a widower. They’re afraid for my safety, so now we have to update and increase security — all the things I’ve never had to do before.”

The fury began when a viral clip of Sapp speaking before a congregation at the 109th Pentecostal Assemblies for the World Convention in Baltimore resurfaced recently, nearly a year after the event, which occurred in July, according to USA Today and Blavity.

‘I never said lock the doors’

In the video, Sapp instructed ushers to “close the doors,” saying there were 1,000 people in the pews and 1,000 viewers; each could sow a “small seed” of $20 to reach the $40,000 goal.

He also turned to the preachers on the pulpit and asked them to contribute to the cause. “It costs to sit up here,” he said after advising them to give $100. “Giving is worship,” Sapp added.

Sapp shared his viewpoint with listeners on The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, explaining how people may have misconstrued his message to the ushers in the video.

“I never said lock the doors. I said shut the doors,” Sapp emphasized. “Shutting doors mean that people still have the ability to go in and out. They’ve taken issue with my tone and I can honestly say looking at the video maybe I was a little more assertive than I should have been. I can apologize for that.”

Sapp said he never received ‘a dime’ from the money raised

The “Never Would Have Made It” singer also denied claims that he received a cut from the $40,000 he rallied everyone to raise to help the Baltimore-based church. “Not a dime of that money came to me,” he said.

“This organization is a church organization I grew up in. These people gave me a platform, and the reason I’m known today is because of the opportunities that this organization gave me,” he added.

On Wednesday, Sapp shared a Facebook statement and provided additional context to those who misunderstood what he said.

“Some have taken issue with a particular moment when I instructed the ushers, rather firmly, to close the doors during the offering. To those unfamiliar with the church context or who may not regularly attend worship gatherings this has been misinterpreted as holding people hostage as well as offensive. That was never my intent,” Sapp wrote in the statement.

‘Fundraising is a critical component to the success’

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. also shared a statement Saturday, apologizing “to those who may have been offended by the manner of receiving donations.”

“It is never our intent for our proceedings to be an offense or hinderance for anyone,” the organization stated, per USA Today. “Fundraising is a critical component to the success of our non-profit organization, and the funds raised are utilized to support not just this event, but our extensive international missions work, auxiliary programming, educational endeavors and more.”