Kenneth Copeland, the controversial Christian televangelist, asked viewers to help fund a private jet to avoid getting the vaccine.

Kenneth Copeland is a notable and famous Christian preacher who has often been accused of seeking profit. In a recent broadcast of his fundraising efforts, Copeland advocated for Christian ministries to get their own private jets in order to avoid having to get vaccinated. According to Copeland, airliners will often require people to get vaccines to fly.

"You get into this situation, 'We're not gonna let you fly unless you're vaccinated,'" Copeland said. "Well, to me, that's the mark of the beast." Copeland later added that he did not mean to imply that the vaccine is the Mark of the Beast, merely that restricting one's access to certain parts of business due to it is similar to what the Mark would later do. Copeland also noted that "I’m not taking the vaccination, but you can do what you wanna do.” 

Kenneth Copeland argues that he needs a private jet because airlines are imposing vaccine requirements and "to me, that's the Mark of the Beast." https://t.co/pWZsRLY5PH pic.twitter.com/x0HaenznuY

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) September 22, 2021

Copeland has often drawn criticism due to his fleet of private jets. When asked for his reasoning for such vehicles, the televangelist says that they are integral to his work and that they help him avoid a barrage of unsolicited prayer requests that people ask of him while he is in public.