VICE TV Announces Documentary On The Jehovah’s Witnesses

VICE TV, America’s fastest growing entertainment cable network, announced today VICE VERSA: Crusaders,a fascinating and disturbing documentary that uncovers a massive cover-up of corruption, abuse and mind control within a global religious organization: the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The special will premiere Wednesday, July 28th at 9:00 pm ET / PT on VICE TV.

Amid ongoing reckonings of religious organizations worldwide, Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to maintain a carefully curated message of faith and an almost unblemished public veneer. To conceal their own corruption, the organization has systematically shamed and silenced victims and ostracized those who dare confront their ways. In this groundbreaking new documentary, VICE VERSA: Crusaders offers unparalleled access into one of the most calculated global religious organizations. Leading this charge is Director Aaron Kaufman, known for his work with Robert Rodriguez (Machete, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Spread), a former third generation Jehovah’s Witness who faced shunning by his family after starting a four year investigation into the ways in which the Jehovah’s Witnesses have protected pedophiles within their congregations and into the true nature of the organization.

“After witnessing firsthand the cycle of abuse that runs deep within the Jehovah’s Witnesses, I could not rest until the dark truth of this organization was brought to light,“ said Director Aaron Kaufman. “VICE VERSA: Crusaders exposes those who use their immense power and influence to maintain control in the name of God.”

Through revealing interviews with whistleblowers and access to leaked documents, VICE VERSA: Crusaders gives viewers an unprecedented look into this extremely guarded organization. In speaking to former members and one current witness, this revealing film aims to confront the cycle of abuse that runs deep within. 

VICE VERSA: Crusaders is a part of VICE TV’s VICE VERSA franchise, a series of independent documentary specials that serve as a hub for compelling storytelling that challenges the status quo. Other specials have included: VICE VERSA: Fear of a Black Quarterback; VICE VERSA: Chyna; VICE VERSA: College $ports, Inc.; VICE VERSA: The Neglected Pandemic, 40 Years of HIV & AIDS; VICE VERSA: One Man and His Shoes; VICE Versa: Bernie Blackout; and VICE VERSA: Meghan Markle Escaping The Crown. 

VICE TV is available via all major satellite and cable providers and the VICE TV app via iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast. For more information about VICE TV, go to VICETV.com. 

VICE VERSA: Crusaders is directed by Aaron Kaufman and executive produced by Lauren Terp. Executive producers for Moxie Pictures include Daniel Levinson and Robert Fernandez. The special is produced in association with RYOT’s Callie Barlow and Hayley Papas. Executive producers for VICE Studios are Danny Gabai and Andrew Freston. Executive producer for VICE TV is Catherine Whyte. Senior Development Manager for VICE TV is Tara Nadolny.

ABOUT VICE TV

VICE TV is the Emmy®-winning international television network from VICE Media Group. Since its inception in 2016, the channel has ushered new audiences to cable with its compelling and provocative programming. Boldly redefining news and current affairs, VICE TV produces hundreds of hours of original content for over 150 million homes worldwide. Built around a mission to tell courageous stories you won’t see anywhere else, told by the people you won’t hear from anywhere else, VICE TV showcases the best in informative and entertaining original series, documentaries and movies, and is the destination for content that challenges popular knowledge and opinion.

ABOUT VICE STUDIOS

VICE Studios is a global production and distribution division within VICE Media Group delivering premium original programming across documentary, scripted and film. With development and production teams in the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, VICE Studios cuts through culture, delivering stories that are popular, human and spotlight the unexpected for audiences around the world.

VICE Studios also houses VICE’s new licensing and distribution group, with a catalogue of over 1000 hours of programming created across the VICE Media Group, across a range of genres from documentary to lifestyle to VICE News. 

VICE Studios upcoming original productions include Flee, World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance 2021, six-part documentary series Pride for FX and Moments Like This Never Last which premiered at DOCNYC. Launched in 2017, VICE Studios productions include Chris Smith’s Emmy-nominated Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond and Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened (Netflix); feature film The Report starring Adam Driver and Annette Bening (Amazon); Diego Osorno’s 1994 (Netflix), Dark Side of the Ring (VICE TV), AKA Jane Roe (FX), and Satanic Verses (BBC).

ABOUT VICE MEDIA GROUP 

Launched in 1994, VICE Media Group has offices in 35 cities across the globe with a focus on five key businesses: VICE.com, an award-winning international network of digital content; VICE STUDIOS, a feature film and television production studio; VICE TV, an Emmy-winning international television network; a Peabody award-winning NEWS division with the most Emmy-awarded nightly news broadcast; and VIRTUE, a global, full-service creative agency with 25 offices around the world.  VICE Media Group’s portfolio includes Refinery29, the leading global media and entertainment company focused on women;  PULSE Films, a London-based next-generation production studio with outposts in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Berlin; and i-D, a global digital and quarterly magazine defining fashion and contemporary culture.