A&E postpones documentary series on North Carolina church

"The Devil Next Door," A&E's six-part documentary series on the alleged abuses at the Word of Faith Fellowship Church in North Carolina was scheduled to premiere Tuesday night at 10:00 PM EST. But at the last minute, the network yanked the series from its schedule. A spokesperson from A&E said producers were working on additional reporting but did not set a future broadcast date.

On Twitter, a lawyer for the church accused A&E of paying some of the participants in series.

Ethical Problems with A&E'sThe Devil Next Door? Participants Being paid?
Troubling Developments implicate the documentary journalism ethics of A&E's upcoming series The Devil Next Door. Press Release is attached....@EVargasTV pic.twitter.com/sippU9aJza

- Joshua B Farmer (@JoshuaBFarmer) November 23, 2018

A&E has run into this problem before. In 2016, their documentary series "Escaping the KKK" was canceled before it aired after it was discovered producers had paid some of the participants.

The Word of Faith Fellowship Church was the subject of an investigation by the Associated Press, who called the church a cult. It was founded in 1979 by Jane Whaley, a former math teacher who considers herself to be a prophet. Allegations of physical and emotional abuse have been made by dozens of former members.

(via Washington Post)(Photo: WLOS)