Texas Pastor Josh Howerton has once again addressed the controversy surrounding his remarks made in February regarding the behavior of husband and wife on their wedding day and wedding night.
While defending his statements as light-hearted jokes, he also expressed regret for any offense caused by what he referred to as "careless words".
In his original remarks, at a Sunday service, Howerton had shared what he described as a "gold nugget of advice" received from a mentor.
"A couple of weeks ago...the week after marriage night (service series), I tossed out a joke," he said.
He encouraged grooms to be accommodating on the day of their wedding day and for brides to comply with their partner's wishes on the wedding night.
During a sermon on Sunday, 7th April, Howerton acknowledged the fallout from his earlier comments, explaining that a joke he made about wedding planning became misinterpreted when taken out of context.
He clarified that the remark was intended as humour but had been misrepresented in online discussions.
The pastor recounted how a portion of his joke was isolated, creating a skewed perception of his message, particularly when circulated on social media platforms like Twitter. He alluded to an article in The Dallas Morning News that had amplified the controversy, framing his comments as "unsolicited advice to women."
"Here’s what happened," Howerton said. "Somebody grabbed that clip of that joke, they clipped off the part of the joke to men, kept the part of the joke to women, and then clipped off the end of the joke before you could tell it was a joke."
Howerton took the opportunity to express remorse for any misunderstanding or offense caused by his words.
Despite his apology, he maintained his stance that his comments were meant to be taken in the spirit of harmless humour.
Moving forward, Howerton emphasised the importance of clarity in communication and urged caution against misinterpretation, particularly in the age of social media where snippets of dialogue can easily be misconstrued.