There’s a growing rift between two members of the rock band Journey and it just got bigger. Founding member Neal Schon has just sent another cease-and-desist letter — this time to evangelist Paula White-Cain, wife of keyboardist Jonathan Cain, The New York Post [1] reports.
You may remember White-Cain as one of the televangelists who attached themselves to then-President Donald Trump’s coattails. She served as the former President’s “spiritual adviser” and delivered the invocation during his inauguration in January 2017. She’s now accused of giving herself access to the band’s bank accounts without Schon’s knowledge or consent. This is according to a letter from Schon’s attorney that the Post had obtained.
In response, an attorney for White-Cain, “warned the public to stop believin’ Schon’s ‘nonsensical’ claim in an exclusive statement to the Post.”
The cease-and-desist letter is one of the disputes Schon, 68, and Cain, 72 are embroiled in. The fun began when Cain performed Journey’s music at a recent Mar-a-Lago shindig, but this latest imbroglio comes as the band prepares to tour North America with fellow 80s hitmakers Toto.
With an estimated net worth [2] of $5 million (which is not huge, by any means), it can still be suggested that White-Cain is Trump’s favorite snow jobber. She’s known to be sticky-fingered and has a gullible fanbase. And her signature has allegedly appeared on Journey-related bank documents, even as early as July 2020 according to the financial paperwork reviewed by the Post. In his cease-and-desist letter, Schon has asked White-Cain to remove herself from the band’s bank accounts by December 27.
It’s not known if that has happened.
But having written about White-Cain for several years now, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that this woman fully understands just how gullible her followers are. She can smell the ink on a dollar bill a mile away, and as my friend, Hemant Mehta notes, she pulls stunts like this:
Trump's "spiritual adviser" (and head of the White House's "Faith and Opportunity Initiative" program) Paula White asked for cash during a coronavirus-related prayer session this afternoon.
"Maybe you’d like to sow a $91 seed… Or maybe $9. Or whatever God tells you to do." pic.twitter.com/zUoeufRhda [3]
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) March 17, 2020 [4]
Perhaps Schon is well aware of her grabbiness because the cease-and-desist letter states in no uncertain terms:
“We have learned that despite the prior mutual agreement between Mr. Schon and Mr. Jonathan Cain that the business of the band and the Journey Related Entities would be handled only by Mr. Schon and Mr. Cain as individuals, your name appears as an authorized signatory on the City National Bank accounts of Freedom JN LLC.”
“We further demand that you immediately cease and desist and refrain in the future from inserting yourself in any business of the band and any legal entities used by the band as this contradicts the existing agreement between Mr. Schon and Mr. Cain.”
White-Cain, who describes herself as a “prosperity pastor” has in the past attacked Trump’s opponents, labeling them as “demonic” and urging God to ensure Trump is victorious (during his 2019 presidential campaign) “in the name of Jesus,” Right Wing Watch [5] reports.
It’s easy to think of this woman as a nutjob, and maybe she is. I think she’s more intelligent than that and knows her base isn’t.