Jesus House is led by Irukwu, who told The Times in 2015 that his goal was to “reChristianise” Britain. It is part of the Redeemed Christian Church of God denomination, a holiness Pentecostal network headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, which spread across the world in the second half of the 20th century, following the country’s diaspora. In 2022, one Nigerian Pentecostal bishop estimated that RCCG churches exist in 200 countries, and there are numerous outposts in the New York City area as well.
Though left-leaning UK citizens have criticized Jesus House—as leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer issued an apology after he visited and praised the church in April 2021—it is still considered part of the country’s religious mainstream. King Charles visited the church twice as the Prince of Wales, once in 2007 and again in 2021. Irukwu was invited to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth as a faith representative in September 2022. In May 2023, he was again on the officiating list for the king’s coronation.
According to the Jesus House Instagram account, Ifeachor’s Q&A session with the pastor’s wife, Sola Irukwu, covered topics such as “standing firm in faith” and how to “navigate being a Christian in the marketplace.” In a reel filmed at the conference, Ifeachor added that she doesn’t like to “compartmentalize” her public persona from her faith. “You are a whole person—that you’re not a Christian here but not-a-Christian there,” she said. “You might not feel like you are the right person to share the gospel or whatever it is. But sometimes your life is a whole prayer; it is a testimony.”
Ifeachor’s exit from The Pitt was confirmed on July 10 of 2025. By July 11, her representative was emphasizing to The Mirror US that the actor is not homophobic: “Any rumors about Tracy participating in any discrimination through her religion are completely incorrect, defamatory, and hurtful,” he said. “This gossip could not be further from the truth. She is a woman who leads with love, kindness, and compassion, and as her very gay publicist, I can say that I see this daily, firsthand.”
If there were any behind-the-scenes issues on the set of The Pitt, it wouldn’t be the first time a medical drama fostered a contentious work environment. A year after Grey’s Anatomy premiered in 2005 and became a massive hit for ABC, reports emerged that Isaiah Washington used a homophobic slur during an on-set argument; in the following months, his costar T.R. Knight came out as gay in a statement to People. Washington apologized for the incident publicly, then revoked his apology in a backstage interview at the 2007 Golden Globes. Following the Globes, Washington apologized for using the slur, but when alluding to the incident in 2020, claimed that he had a right to exercise “free speech.” Eventually, his character, Dr. Preston Burke, was written off the show. (Burke leaves his fiancée, Dr. Cristina Yang, at the altar during the show’s second season finale; Washington did return to the show for a guest appearance in 2014.)
Grey’s Anatomy is now in its 22nd season, and Ellen Pompeo continues to play its title character, Meredith Grey. “The first 10 years we had serious culture issues, very bad behavior, really toxic work environment,” Pompeo said in a 2019 interview with Variety. She added that she only continued in the role afterward because there were “some big shifts in front of the camera, behind the camera” as time went on.
Erin Vanderhoof
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