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‘We Gonna Get That $40,000 One Way or Another’: Marvin Sapp Faces Backlash for Profiting Off Church ‘Close the Doors’ Drama with New Song
Marvin Sapp has a testimony about survival that he wants the world to hear amid weeks of controversy. A resurfaced video of the gospel singer requesting $40,000 worth of donations from worshippers at a church convention in August 2024 ignited his creativity.
The viral clips reemerged in late March. In them, he is heard advising ushers to “close the doors” as monetary offerings were made. He never pocketed the money that was collected for the convention. By April 16, though, the “Never Would Have Made It” songwriter had reclaimed the narrative.
He shared a teaser of a new single sampling his audio ordering the convention doors shut for the track “Close the Doors.” “The last few weeks have been tough. Misunderstood, misrepresented, misinterpreted, and even maligned,” Sapp wrote in the caption.
He insists that the music “isn’t just a song, it’s a soundtrack for survival… I’m closing the door on the noise, the pain, and everything that tried to break me… This song will bless you. I believe that with everything in me. My assignment in this season through this song is to help you close the door too.”
The aptly timed release date is April 18. After The Shade Room reposted the snippet, reactions flooded the comment section. A follower declared, “And I’m downloading it, Unc makes nothing but hits!” On the contrary, a second user shared, “To me this makes is worse…it’s still about the money and not the word.”
“False prophets” claims also emerged as some people saw the blasphemy in the stunt. One such person wrote, “Homie playing in the congregation’s face at this point, that’s y’all pastor.” A fourth individual humorously reacted as they remarked, “We gonna get that $40,000 one way or another.”
Marvin Sapp is clearly HUSTLING his congregation for 40k— and using God’s name to do it.
he’s calling for the doors to be locked? that’s not faith, that’s a shakedown and a false prophet.
someone had a bill to pay, and it wasn’t to the church. https://t.co/MtBRENSb0t pic.twitter.com/SqLtOwRrSW
— Boochie is the Name (@stoppfeenin) March 26, 2025
Sapp, however, did not take all of the reactions he faced amid the backlash in jest. He previously revealed, “People have called my church and cussed me out. My staff are afraid… My children, they are afraid and the reason is because I’m their only parent,” in an interview for the “Rickey Smiley Morning Show” on March 31.
Sapp’s wife, MaLinda Prince Sapp, died of cancer in 2012. She left behind three children. He added, “Now we’ve had to update and increase security and all the things I’ve never had to do before because of the vitriol and the anger that people have shown.”
The polarizing incident led to speculations of a rift between the church leader and his musical peer Kirk Franklin. The musician made light of the scandal when he captioned an Instagram post of himself, Sapp, and other gospel figures, “Open the doors!” Neither of the men gave credence to the rumors.
