the only question is whether joel osteen would want to sue. and say, you've damaged my reputation, you've cost me money, you've cost me some esteem within the community, and you ought to pay for that. >> reporter: osteen won't say whether he has any plans to sue. >> i'm really not angry, i don't feel like a victim. i think a lot of it is my personality. i feel too blessed that life is too short to let things like this get you down. >> reporter: a good christian, he's turning the other cheek for now. >> i think to me, they just had too much time on their hands and wanted to create some kind of stir. i don't see it as malicious. >> that's okay, god has something great in your future. >> reporter: abc news managed to contact a man who claims to be osteen's hoaxster. >> how do we know we are justin tribble, how do we know this is not a hoax? >> you don't. i'm kidding, you do. >> reporter: he sent what he said were the receipts for the go daddy account used to register the phoney domain name, plus correspondence between him and npr and "the huffing

joel osteen and his wife are here. victoria is a co-pastor there as well. good morning. are so hard to believe right now to people in newtown, connecticut, in boston, and certainly in your state of texas. >> well i see that the opposite in the fact that look how quickly life was taken away. we have to appreciate gifts each day because we don't have a guarantee of tomorrow. our hearts break for those people. there's no great words to tell them. >> how do you do that joel when you're in such pain to look at it as a gift? concretely, what do you say exactly? what are words you use? >> wt i tell people that just lost a loved one, god still has you in the palm of his hand.es there aren' right words. you sit with them. you weep with those that are weeping. i encourage them to take it one day at a time. you get up and think i can't go on for six months. can you do it for 24 hours? god will give you mer and grace for ev >> it was nice to see in boston that interfaith service that the president attended and spoke at. what do you think about that gathering and why religion becomes

it was certainly news to joel osteen. >> my phone started buzzing., you know, calls started coming in, and i thought, "i better go check that." >> reporter: turns out, there was a twitter account linked to a facebook page and a website. an elaborate internet hoax. to be crystal clear, it's not true. >> all is well. i still have my faith. nothing has changed. >> reporter: abc news followed the trail of digital clues to the man now claiming responsibility. >> my name is justin tribble. i'm from minneapolis, st. paul. >> reporter: and how do we know this is justin tribble, and how do we know this is not a hoax? >> well, you don't. no, i'm kidding, you do. >> reporter: to prove it, he showed us what he said was the receipt for securing the phony website address. >> i don't agree with the term, "hoax." i think it's a ruse. it is playful. >> you've got what it takes, this is your moment, the promise is in you. >> reporter: he told us he did this because he admires osteen's skills as a preacher. >> we're not supposed to be dragging through life. get your so

we track down the man who says he spread word that joel osteen had given up on god. >>> and kitchen cam. news today about how much food america wastes. so we use our cameras to show one family all the money they're throwing away. >> good evening. tonight there's urgent new evidence that north korea is ready to launch a missile at any hour, any moment, a show of force, a defiant test of world reaction. abc news has been told that the fuel has been loaded. the missile is on the pad. and our bob woodruff is in south korea to bring us more details right now. >> reporter: the top u.s. defense official responded to kim jong-un's rising rhetoric today. >> north korea's actions have been skating very close to a dangerous line. >> reporter: there is some anxiety growing on the streets and in the subways of seoul amid south korean news reports that emergency threat levels jumped to watchcon-2, which is one step away from war. even as koreans went about their daily routines, young koreans, who have lived through the endless propaganda and missile tests for decades, now even they are starting to wo

one big problem here is the real joel osteen says none of this is true. >> all is well.e my faith. nothing changed. >> reporter: we spoke with the pastor who said he finds this mildly amusing. >> i am not angry. i don't feel like a victim. i feel too blessed. life ties short to let things get you down. >> reporter: true to form he is turning the other cheek and spinning this bit of adversity as part of his core message. >> you can't stop everything from happening the you can choose to say god it is in your hand. i am going to move forward. stay full of joy and enjoy this day. >> dan harris, abc news, new york. >> what are the guys thinking? >> isn't it unbelievable? >> that anyone would buy into it. the osteens have been out there such a long time. he began introducing television productions for lakeland church in 1982 at 20. to think he abandoned his faith. >> right there, yeah. right. >> right there, yeah. right. care and styling from the original salon genius, created to let you have it all at an affordable price. new vidal sassoon lets you say no to compromise and ye

joel osteen is one of the most powerful pastors in the country. if he lost his faith it would be a huge story. the problem is this story is apparently not true. >> before god will release big blessings, he will give you small tests. >> reporter: every sunday he proclaims his faith in front of 45,000 members of his texas megachurch with an audience of millions watching at home and online. ♪ do you believe the lord is good ♪ >> reporter: you can imagine the reactions when they saw this official-looking website with the special announcement from the pastor reading "i am leaving the christian faith." the site is elaborate complete with a youtube video featuring rather ominous muse tick and pictures of news stories on cnn and accompanying twitter account with this message supposed from him declaring "there is zero evidence the bible is the holy word of god. in fact, there is zero evidence god even exists." the problem is the real joel osteen says this did not true. >> all is well. i still have my faith. nothing changed. >> reporter: overnight we spoke

lakewood church services led by pastor joel osteen seen in 100 nations around the world.the world as well. >> very interesting. >> all right, coming up, cheers and jeers over a controversial song. >> the duet performed by brad paisley and l.l. cool j, the buzz and criticism. coming up next. ♪ everything we have done >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations. ♪ i'm proud of where i'm from but not everything we've done ♪ ♪ it ain't like you and me can revive history ♪ >> country music star brad paisley and rapper ll cool j are taking heat for their duet called "accidental racist." >> call it a socially conscious song. critics are having their say. performers explaining their work in an abc news exclusive. here is paula faris. >> reporter: the new song may be called "accidental racist." ♪ i'm just a white man coming to you from the south land ♪ >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with abc news, the two stars who sing it say the national debate it is sparking was every bit intentional. ♪ but it ain't like i can walk a mile in some one else's

. >> anything to get her -- >>> joel osteen, did you see that story? >> i saw that as well. you're getting nothing but trouble on the world wide web. >> somebody came up with a website. >> didn't they go to an awful lot of trouble to do this? >> it looked just like his website. it said he had renounced the church, he is now an atheist, et cetera, et cetera. and i guess people started believing it. they had to come out with a statement. >> somebody went to an awful lot of trouble to do something that's ridiculous. >> what is everybody doing? >>> can we show this putin video? no. it was so -- >> i thought it was vulgar. i didn't like it at all. >> this doesn't show the truth. what happened was, a bunch of girls ripped their shirts off and decided to protest. >> and i do it all the time. nobody cares. >> what you don't see, is here's putin and there's video of him. i want you to go online and look at it, not right now, but after the show's over. putin -- he's giving two thumbs up. that's the initial reaction. >> like, yeah. >> that's what he does, right away. >> like frat house

man who tried to take down one of america's famous pastors, revealing overnight why he went over joel osteen exclusive. ♪ ♪ i'm proud of where i come >>> the song raising eyebrows. from two of the biggest titans in entertainment. brad paisley and l.l. cool j. their song, "accidental racist," is sparking an international debate. they speak about it only on "gma." >> only love can so what we're talking about on the song is forgiveness and compassion. >>> and good morning, america. robin off today. great to have elizabeth vargas here. boy, we have a whole lot going on this morning. all that you just saw, plus two more major stories we're reporting on right now, and we just learned that a deal has been reached for expanding background checks on gun buyers. the president and those newtown families have been pressing for it and looks like a major breakthrough. >>> and we're also standing by for a possible north korean missile launch, we're standing by that could take place at any time. we'll go there for a live report. >> tension keeps on building. >>> but let's get to that florida couple who kidn

we hear a lot about joel osteen. those are famous southern preachers. billy graham. but this is a huge figure, a revered figure, especially around the country, but especially in california. >> oh yes. he is much loved here. and he has an interesting balance of being really kind of accessible in the way his language and the way he talks to his community, but also still conservative in certain social areas. and he comes from an area of southern california, lake forest, that is in orange county, tends to be a more conservative area when you think of california as being this huge liberal bastion. but he is much loved in this state. >> wendy, thank you for guiding us through this. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> kenny rogers sang about it in "the gambler." knowing when to hold 'em and knowing when to fold 'em also keeps the stock market wealth. christine romans looks on the rules on selling your stocks. >> the dow just wrapped up its best first quarter since 1998. the other major indexes have also soared, but you don't make any real money until you sell. one strategy

. >> in studio 57, pastor joel osteen and his wife victoria and harvey winestein. >> we begin with youreconds. >> he will not be treated as an enemy combatant. we will prosecute this trust through the civilian system

and joel osteen goes on, you know, victim of identity theft i guess. >> i'm really not angry.nk a lot of it is my personality. i feel i'm too blessed to let stuff like this get you down. >> bill: he's such a phony. to me, he wreaks insincerity in that voice. >> i think he pulled a joke and had lindsey graham issue a statement for him. they do sort of have that same real type of voice on them. just real something, i don't know what you want to call it. >> nice illustration of dorothy parker. paraphrased, the opening thing worse than being joked about is not being joked about. you've arrived when you have a twitter account or spoofed. that means you're somebody. >> bill: i picked up one of his books once and i couldn't believe people pay money for that b.s. >> i'm not so sure about that guy. >> bill: i'm not either. we've got a lot to cover here this morning with olivier knox. robert borosage, the campaign for america's future will be joining us in about half hour to talk about the president's budget. but first... >> we're starting to learn what celebrities will be attending thi

thank you. >> gretchen: joel osteen, the victim of an elaborate hoax. a. >> gretchen: says he's a fan. he actually listens to osteen, but wants him to change his message and talk about more serious topics. that's why he set up the fake web site claiming osteen was giving up his faith and people printed it and thought it was true. >> brian: the legendary blue angels are grounded. the reason? sequestration. the navy canceled all performances at festivals and air shows across the country for the rest of the year. >> i'm disappointed as the whole team is. the blue angels are extremely important to recruiting. they inspire young men and women. i was inspired as a young boy when i saw the blue angels and inspired me to join the navy and pursue a career in naval aviation. >> brian: it will save 15 and $20 million. a reminder, our national debt is nearly $17 trillion. they usually fly over jones beach. i guess why are we even going to have a reason to look up. >> steve: after a fugitive ex cop went on a killing spree, we're hearing the call for help made by the

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. >> reporter: the idea that televangelist joel osteen was giving up his ministry made headlines around the world. >> all is well. i still have my faith. nothing is changed. >> reporter: but the perpetrator of that hoax was a mystery until now. >> my name is justin tribble, i'm from the minnesota, st. paul area. >> how do we know you're justin? how do you know it's not a hoax? >> you do. you don't. >> reporter: we were skeptical. but we asked her to show us his driver's license, apparently legit and his connection to the story he shared other items, the godaddy receipt from registering the phony domain name. assuming you did it, why did you do it? >> i'm actually a big fan of joes osteen, i like him, i listen to him, i enjoy his sermons. i didn't want to hurt the guy. i didn't want to defame him. i want a message to get through to this guy calm down the cliches and get real. >> reporter: as for the maze of phoney websites, facebook and twitter accounts that circulated a bogus sort tribble said he doesn't like the word "hoax." >> i would call it sort of a media campaign, a way to get thr