A posthumous sexual misconduct scandal involving the man who founded, in his own name, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries has placed the global Christian organization in a wrenching predicament. It faces calls from within its own ranks to change its name, pay reparations to any victims and oust some top leaders, including Zacharias family members.
Zacharias, a widely popular author and speaker, died of cancer in May at age 74. One measure of his stature in Christian circles: Vice President Mike Pence spoke at his memorial service, lauding him as a great evangelist “armed with intellect, girded with truth and love.”
Zacharias founded his international ministry, known as RZIM, in 1984, with a mission to engage in “Christian apologetics” — defending Christianity with powerful intellectual arguments. Based in suburban Atlanta, RZIM has operations in about 20 countries and a roster of scores of traveling speakers.
FILE - In this March 30, 2016 file photo, Ravi Zacharias, center, speaks during the Society of World Changers induction ceremony at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind. Zacharias, who built an international ministry that strives to defend Christianity on intellectual grounds, died Tuesday, May 19, 2020, at his home in Atlanta after a brief battle with cancer. A posthumous sex scandal involving Zacharias who founded, in his own name, the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries has placed the global organization in a wrenching predicament. (Jeff MoreheadThe Chronicle-Tribune via AP, File)
In recent months, the organization has been plunged into crisis, precipitated by a Sept. 29 article in the evangelical publication Christianity Today asserting that over a period of about five years, Zacharias sexually harassed three women who worked as massage therapists at two day spas he co-owned in an Atlanta suburb.
RZIM’s leadership initially challenged the claims, asserting that the allegations “do not in any way comport with the man we knew for decades — we believe them to be false.”
However, RZIM hired an Atlanta law firm, Miller & Martin, in October to conduct an independent investigation.
Completion of the report, and its promised public release, is still weeks away. But on Dec. 22 the law firm submitted a dramatic “ interim update ” to RZIM’s executive committee, which made it public the next day.
The law firm summarized its investigation, which included dozens of interviews, as well as review of documents and electronic data. In the process, the firm said, “We have found significant, credible evidence that Mr. Zacharias engaged in sexual misconduct over the course of many years.”
“Some of that misconduct is consistent with and corroborative of that which is reported in the news recently, and some of the conduct we have uncovered is more serious,” it added. “Our investigation is ongoing, and we continue to pursue leads.”
In disclosing the interim findings, the RZIM executive committee members described themselves as heartbroken and expressed remorse on behalf of those victimized by Zacharias.
The disclosures already have had tangible impact. Several radio outlets, including Moody Radio — one of the largest Christian networks in the U.S. — have dropped RZIM programs. Some booksellers have pulled Zacharias' books from their offerings. In Britain, a network of student-led mission teams operating on university campuses has asked RZIM-affiliated speakers to withdraw from upcoming events.
There has been heavy pressure on RZIM from its British affiliate, the Zacharias Trust. In a letter to its staff on Dec. 23, the trust’s board members said they were urging the U.S. leadership to issue a “profound apology” to any victims and commit to “reform radically the governance, leadership and accountability of the RZIM organization.”
RZIM spokesperson Ruth Malhotra told The Associated Press that the organization’s senior leaders, including CEO Sarah Davis — who is Zacharias’ eldest daughter — and President Michael Ramsden, were declining to grant interviews until after the law firm’s investigation concludes.
Davis, in an email obtained by the AP, wrote to RZIM staff on Dec. 23 acknowledging that the developments were likely to have caused “grief, confusion, disillusionment and anger” and asking that they refrain from speaking to the media while the investigation is underway.
However, several employees have made clear in social media posts and in letters that have been shared publicly that they are dismayed with the leadership’s handling of the scandal. They say the leaders have discussed the option of “rebranding,” which would likely entail a change of the organization’s name, but the employees are pressing for additional steps, including reparations and a leadership overhaul.
Among them is Carson Weitnauer, a specialist in online outreach for RZIM’s Zacharias Institute. Writing on his blog, he said his faith in the organization's leadership has been shattered.
“The realization that Ravi Zacharias was not the greatest apologist of his generation — but rather one of its greatest frauds — has felt like a catastrophic betrayal,” Weitnauer wrote. “I have felt a sickening combination of revulsion and grief.”
RZIM staff members “have been badly misled by our secretive board and senior leaders,” he continued. “RZIM must change its name, remove Ravi’s material, repent for its many failures, and provide a restorative response to the harm that Ravi’s victims experienced.”
In a follow-up post, Weitnauer asked if the board would resign “to acknowledge their failure to provide accountability to Ravi Zacharias for more than a decade.”
Also going public with criticism was Max Baker-Hytch, a philosophy instructor at the University of Oxford who has worked for several years with RZIM’s Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics in Britain.
In a pair of letters to RZIM board members, which he later shared with the AP, Baker-Hytch faulted the board for lack of transparency and urged it to release internal governance information, such as the names and salaries of senior officials. Such information about nonprofits is normally accessible to the public via IRS Form 990s, but RZIM has not disclosed a Form 990 since 2015; Malhotra said it became exempt from filing after asking the IRS to reclassify it as “an association of churches.”
“The board’s continued secrecy, not only to the employees they oversee, but also to the public who rightly want full accountability, has irreparably damaged the board’s credibility,” Baker-Hytch wrote Dec. 20. “The only way I can see the public credibility of this organisation being restored is for there to be a brand-new Global Board of Directors and Global CEO, none of whom are Zacharias family members, and to file Form 990s ... for the years they haven’t been filed.”
RZIM’s Form 990 for 2015 reported that nearly all its revenue came from contributions and grants, which totaled $24.6 million. Zacharias’ wife, Margaret, is listed as vice chairman of ministry; their eldest daughter, Sarah Davis, as executive director; and their younger daughter, Naomi Zacharias, as vice president for a grant-making division called Wellspring International.
Zacharias had been entangled in some previous controversies over how he had publicly described his academic credentials and over his claim, later challenged in legal proceedings, that he was the target of an extortion scheme related to sexting and sexually explicit photos.
Weitnauer and Baker-Hytch said the RZIM board was too credulous in accepting Zacharias' version of the sexting case and too dismissive of claims by the woman he accused, Lori Anne Thompson. She contends that Zacharias groomed her to participate in secretive communications that eventually included sending nude photos of herself.
Zacharias dropped his extortion lawsuit in November 2017, and the parties eventually reached a private settlement.
In a statement posted online on Dec. 23, Thompson and her husband thanked RZIM employees who questioned the organization's handling of the case.
“We were targeted, groomed, exploited, malevolently litigated against, falsely accused as elaborate extortionists,” the statement said. “Apologies should be as far reaching as the damage.”
Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Hollywood’s awards season will kick off with the 83rd Golden Globe Awards at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific.
Comedian Nikki Glaser returns for a second year to host the ceremony at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. It’s a Champagne-soaked party featuring some of the biggest names in film and television, even if the awards won’t exactly forecast the Oscars.
“One Battle After Another” topped the list of nominations with nine, closely followed by “Sentimental Value” with eight. “Wicked: For Good” was snubbed for best picture and best director. Others left out include Joe Rogan (for the new podcast category ), Sydney Sweeney and Gwyneth Paltrow, leaving room for plenty of surprise inclusions. See the full list of nominees.
The Globes will be broadcast on CBS and available to stream through Paramount+.
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The idea for the pins began with a late-night text exchange earlier this week between Nelini Stamp, with the group Working Families Power, and Jess Morales Rocketto, the executive director of a Latino advocacy group called Maremoto.
“There is a longstanding tradition of people who create art taking a stand for justice in moments,” Stamp said. “We’re going to continue that tradition.”
The two organizers began calling up the celebrities and influencers they knew, who in turn brought their campaign to the more prominent figures in their circles.
Allies of their movement have been attending the “fancy events” that take place in the days leading up to the Golden Globes, according to Stamp. They’re passing out the pins at parties and distributing them to neighbors who will be attending the ceremony.
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After filming “Marty Supreme,” Kevin O’Leary says he would like to star in the next James Bond movie.
“I want to be the bad guy in Bond,” he said. “Nobody can do it the way I can. And I want Bond to be a woman this time.”
Mark Ruffalo is wearing a pin saying “BE GOOD” on the red carpet.
The emblem, part of the #BeGood campaign, references the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration officer in Minneapolis last week. According to a news release, the pins also pay tribute to Keith Porter, who was fatally shot in Los Angeles by an off-duty ICE officer on New Year’s Eve.
The campaign was organized by a group of entertainment industry professionals with support from groups Working Families Power and Maremoto.
Wagner Moura, a best actor nominee for Brazil’s “The Secret Agent” says speaking out about politics is risky for an entertainer, but feels like a necessity.
“In order to do that you have to be very aware that sometimes you have to pay the price, but I’m willing to,” he said. “I’m a very political person, I think politically, I like to make political films. ‘The Secret Agent’ is one of those.”
“It would be weird for me to work as a political artist and then shy away from saying what I think,” he said.
“I’m getting a lot of direct messages from vampires,” he said. “Finally, a film where the vampire is respected.”
In the film, O’Leary portrays a successful businessman who described himself as a vampire born in the 17th century. The strikingly absurd quote is a memorable moment in the film.
Wunmi Mosaku of “Sinners” wore stunning bright yellow to announce news of her pregnancy. She cradled her bump as she made her way up the stairs. In a Vogue essay, she celebrates her pregnancy and her Nigerian culture, explaining that in Yoruba, “we say Iya ni Wúrà.” It means “mother is golden.” When she saw sketches of her custom yellow Matthew Reisman gown, “I knew it was the right dress and the right moment.”
Mosaku is Nigerian British with an American husband who stays out of the spotlight.
Actor Delroy Lindo didn’t have much time to rehearse the three-page monologue before filming. But the magic came out while shooting the scene.
“As we filmed, the more conversant one became with the moment,” he said. “It was one of those situations that became more and more full, and the fact that it lands on you, as the audience, spiritually, is beautiful for me to hear.”
The film has a slew of nominations, including best drama motion picture, best director and best screenplay.
Kevin O’Leary, the businessman-turned-TV personality who starred as Milton Rockwell in “Marty Supreme,” said the role was written with him in mind.
O’Leary recalled director Josh Safdie saying to him: “We wrote this part, Milton Rockwell, he’s a real a-hole, and I think you’re the guy.”
After reading the script, O’Leary agreed. “I really felt that I’m that guy,” he said.
Presenter Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Jonas Brothers member Nick Jonas posed for cameras not long after celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary. She was dressed in a midnight blue tiered gown with a waist sash. He picked a traditional black tux.
Jonas shared a photo on Instagram Dec. 1 of Chopra in a red bikini with the words: “7 years married to my dream girl.”
A massive construction project across from the main driveway of the Beverly Hilton hotel has upended the Golden Globes.
Instead of walking down the red-carpeted driveway and into the lobby, the starry attendees are stepping onto an oxblood carpet, which is fully enclosed for the first time and set up along Wilshire Boulevard, which is shut down for the awards.
There are stairs to contend with as A-listers make their way, including what’s being called the golden ascent, a staircase designed to mimic a film reel as it unspools.
If they survive the gauntlet, the celebs will find a meal from Tony Nobu, a celebrity haunt known for its Japanese-Peruvian fusion cuisine, waiting on their plates in the International Ballroom. It’s practically comfort food for Kylie Jenner, whose family are regulars at the Malibu location.
The construction causing all the changes is a $10 billion mixed-use development featuring two luxury residential towers, a hotel, shopping and restaurants. For years, that property was a giant hole after a department store was shuttered and torn down.
Brittany Snow says she has mixed feelings about the arc of her character, Sophie O’Neil, on “The Hunting Wives.”
She says they are about to start shooting the fifth episode of Season 2 of the Netflix show.
“I wish that Sophie made better choices,” Snow said. “But we love to watch her make bad choices.”
She added, “I love playing a character like that. I can’t tell you that she’s the most altruistic human, but what fun would that be?”
That grand, Met Gala-esque staircase was only for the stars. The non-famous entered through another, ground level entrance.
“Don’t worry,” a staffer told a disappointed guest. “There’s a place to get your photo at the end too.”
Park Chan-wook, director of “No Other Choice” said he originally wrote the film for an American audience. Only recently did he decide to develop the piece as a Korean film, he said.
“I think, in turn, it improved the movie and the screenplay, because before then, we weren’t able to incorporate the AI technology element into the movie,” he said through a translator, while wearing Saint Laurent.
Park’s film is nominated for best motion picture for a musical or comedy. It is also nominated for best non-English motion picture.
Kaouther Ben Hania, director of “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” said the reception of her film has restored her faith in art.
“Many people told me, ‘This movie changed me,’” she said. “People in the beginning are afraid to watch it, but once they see the voice and hear the voice of Hind Rajab, this movie affects them and changes them.”
The movie includes an audio recording of the 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab before she was killed by Israeli forces in 2024. It’s nominated for best non-English motion picture.
“Sinners” director Ryan Coogler said he’s “married to cinema, and this movie felt like I was renewing my vows.” Chase Infiniti woke up to a dead phone the morning she was nominated for “One Battle After Another.”
Maggie O’Farrell, author of “Hamnet” and co-nominated for the adaptation’s screenplay, says the film “feels not like my child, more like a kind of niece or nephew.” And for “Sentimental Value” director Joachim Trier, it was time for some Champagne.
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University of California and Simi Valley police and bomb-sniffing dogs of no obvious, immediate affiliation were on hand to help monitor vehicles dropping off guests, involving a labyrinthine route that might befuddle even the most seasoned Angeleno, accessible only to those traveling east.
The Golden Globes has also chosen a harrowing staircase climb for its celebrity guests, flanked by photographers on both sides. The setup is not unlike the daunting Grand Staircase for the Met Gala.
The presenters announced Thursday feature a mix of Hollywood A-listers like George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Queen Latifah, along with rising stars like the leads from “Heated Rivalry,” Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams.
Additional presenters include: Amanda Seyfried, Ana de Armas, Ayo Edebiri, Charli xcx, Chris Pine, Colman Domingo, Dakota Fanning, Dave Franco, Diane Lane, Hailee Steinfeld, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Joe Keery, Judd Apatow, Justin Hartley, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Hart, Kyra Sedgwick, Lalisa Manobal (Lisa from Blackpink), Luke Grimes, Macaulay Culkin, Marlon Wayans, Melissa McCarthy, Mila Kunis, Miley Cyrus, Minnie Driver, Orlando Bloom, Pamela Anderson, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Regina Hall, Sean Hayes, Snoop Dogg, Wanda Sykes, Will Arnett and Zoë Kravitz.
The Globes usually want a party, not politics. But that might be hard in the award show’s first ceremony during President Donald Trump’s second term.
The fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother Renee Good in Minneapolis by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may be on the minds of many attendees. The night’s frontrunner, “One Battle After Another,” notably opens with a raid on an ICE detention facility.
While the Globes’ TV drama and comedy categories have massive overlap with last year’s Emmys, the limited series group is full of new blood.
Recent buzzy series " All Her Fault," “The Beast in Me” and “The Girlfriend” have all been nominated for best limited series and the honor of probably losing to “Adolescence.”
Compared to the crazy-convoluted Emmys calendar, the Golden Globes TV eligibility window is as simple as the singular soul on “Pluribus.”
If most of a show aired the previous year, it’s eligible. That’s it.
The big nominees are still nearly all reruns though. Everything in the best drama series category was up for best drama at September’s Emmys, including the winner “The Pitt.”
“Pluribus” is the only invader in the group, and has a good chance of getting the Globes to conform to its will. “Heated Rivalry” didn’t make the team.
Last year, the Golden Globes largely avoided conversations surrounding President Donald Trump’s politics. That may not be the case this time around.
Since Trump reclaimed the White House, the president’s name has been added to the exterior of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts building. Numerous artists have canceled appearances at the center, and ticket sales and attendance have fallen, and viewership for December’s broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors program was down by about 35% compared to the year before.
Meanwhile, Trump also said he would slap a 100% tax on movies made outside the United States, though no such tariffs have yet to be levied.
And the awards event will also be taking place in California, one of the states central to political redistricting ahead of U.S. midterms this year.
This year’s voting body is made up of nearly 400 journalists and film critics from around the world, who cover the entertainment industry for international audiences.
The ceremony was originally presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. After a series of scandals, Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge Industries acquired the rights to the show in 2023. The voting body has expanded to include more racial, ethnic and gender diversity since then.
Any foreign entertainment journalist working for an internationally based media outlet can apply to be a voter.
The Golden Globes this year introduced the best podcast category, and the nominees represent a mix of news and celebrity conversations all the while avoiding political controversy. Up for the inaugural award:
The nominations seemingly avoided controversy by passing on popular conservative-leaning podcasts from the shortlist, such as “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which topped all major podcast platforms in 2025, and “The Megyn Kelly Show,” “The Tucker Carlson Show,” “The Ben Shapiro Show” and Candace Owens’ “Candace.”
Also axed from the nominees: the left-leaning “Pod Save America,” and popular true-crime podcasts “Morbid” and “Rotten Mango.”
Warner Bros. might be on the cusp of being sold, but it stands to dominate Sunday’s Globes. The studio is behind the odds-on favorite “One Battle After Another,” the most likely drama winner, “Sinners,” and the most nominated series, “The White Lotus.”
Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to be acquired by Netflix in a deal with $82.7 million. The only studio with more nominations than Warner Bros.’ 31? Netflix, with 35.
FILMS
1. “One Battle After Another”: 9
2. “Sentimental Value”: 8
3. “Sinners”: 7
4. “Hamnet”: 6
5. “Frankenstein” and “Wicked: For Good”: 5 each
TELEVISION
1. “The White Lotus”: 6
2. “Adolescence”: 5
3: “Only Murders in the Building” and “Severance”: 4 each
5. “The Bear,” “The Beast in Me,” “Black Mirror,” “Hacks,” “Nobody Wants This,” and “The Studio: 3 each
Nikki Glaser rolls out the red carpet during the 83rd Golden Globes press preview on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
General view of atmosphere at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
A general atmosphere at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
