Kandee's Grandmother - Barbara Johnson (Christian author/speaker)

Kandee's grandmother was Barbara Johnson, the popular Christian author and speaker. She lived in La Habra, CA (suburban Los Angeles) and died in the Palm Springs area.

Having a grandma who lives in Los Angeles County must be Kandee's way of justifying that she "grew up in Los Angeles". La Habra is a middle class city, nothing special, and a good 30 min (longer in traffic) drive to Beverly Hills or the West Side of LA where she tends to post many of her recent photos of her shopping and staying. There is also mention of them living in a mobil home (snark - a double wide?).

Grandma Johnson's bio says that she only has 3 sons, 2 died prior to KJ's birth, 1 remaining who was gay and was alienated from the family. That started off Barbara's ministry to families with gay family members. Evidently, he later renounced his gayness and turned straight and rededicated himself to being a Christian (not sure how you do that, but ok).

Does anyone know if Barbara Johnson is KJ's mom's mother then? Or... Is KJ's father the remaining son who was gay then straight?

Barbara Johnson has a foundation to continue her work and to sell her books (many). Some articles mention only 2 grandkids (KJ and her sister).

Curious about this relationship and how it may impact some of KJ's behavior and statements.

wow if they threw away a family member for 'sinning' why dont they throw out kandee with all of her divorces and baby outside of marriage?

sounds like her whole family's way of thinking is pretty twisted. "turned straight"???? im pretty positive it doesnt work that way

kj's mom is shannon rasmussen. and she has a grandmother named rasmussen as well so i think barbara johnson is prob on her dads side

also i find it disgusting that someone who lost 2 children could throw away their last living child
yet they all only preach love and acceptance
this family is seriously twisted

if barbara johnson only has 3 sons that means there is no daughter so she cant be shannons mother. she has to be kandee's dads mother

and id the other 2 sons died........kandee's dad is gay??? (im sorry - "TURNED straight") is that why kj's parents are divorced?

(sorry i keep replying to my own comments. i didnt think about this at first and a lightbulb just went off....)

This information has been shared already here on another thread. If anyone would like to get the facts on Barbara Johnson's life & her family, please click on the following links and read the facts:

http://www.barbaraspatulajohnson.org/

http://www.youtube.com/user/jesterdb

It's a little small so sorry if anyone has trouble reading it. The part I wanted to bring attention to was "Kandee's grandmother had 4 sons, one of which is her father and the gay one is his brother." So according to MUAwtf, Kandee's dad isn't gay and that's not why her parents divorced.

there are posts on here SOMEWHERE of the comparison of kandee and barbara.

barbara used the object of a spatula to grasp her readers' attention, etc.. kandee uses the word "HEART" -- she just tweeted earlier "I just want to tell all of you how much I love and appreciate you all....your words of kindness are like sparkling jewels in my heart!"

it could probably be added to the "kandee johnson shots game" - every time she writes "heart" take a shot, and you'll be drunk in NO time.

it's a way of getting the attention of those who follow her- heart is a strong word, you can feel it. "my heart hurts today.." "you're all in my heart!!" it's a trigger word!
these ladies were/are intelligent

The fact that Barbara Johnson was Kandee's grandmother tells you a lot more about Kandee than you think. From her 'motivational' posts on her blog to her Glaminars, Kandee has been trained through observing her grandmother to know how to motivate others. Here's what it takes to be a motivational speaker.

1. In order to succeed as a motivational speaker, your message must be connected to the needs and aspirations of your audience. It helps to have personally overcome one or more adversities. As has been mentioned, Barbara Johnson spoke to Christian audiences about...her sick husband, her own illness and her relationship issues with a gay son. If you read the KJ forum regularly, you are well aware of what 'trials' Kandee uses to 'motivate' her audience.

2. Carve out your niche. Motivational speaking is, in many ways, a product that must be sold. We all know how Kandee 'sells' herself to her followers.

3. Establish yourself as an authority on the subject on which you will be speaking by publishing articles, books, etc. Kandee uses her multiple blogs and videos on YouTube to give the her an air of knowledge and experience. A portfolio...not so much.

4, Get the word out that you're available to speak. Not hard to do when you have 500,000 subscribers on YouTube.

5. Send out an agenda to everyone who will attend your speaking session. I'll let the disgruntled Glaminar attendees address the accuracy of the agenda Kandee included with her Glaminars.

6. Always ask for feedback from the people who attend your event. Positive feedback will inspire you while negative feedback will make you aspire to do better. Or in Kandee's case, it will inspire her to stay up until 3AM blocking you and inspiring her online followers to verbally abuse you.

KandeeKult wrote:This information has been shared already here on another thread. If anyone would like to get the facts on Barbara Johnson's life & her family, please click on the following links and read the facts:

http://www.barbaraspatulajohnson.org/

http://www.youtube.com/user/jesterdb

Hi. I did not know that this information was already posted in another place. Thank you for the post. On the Barbara Johnson webpage that you noted, it does only say that she has 3 sons in a few places, which is kinda strange. Some reference 3 and some reference 4.

Have not seen this posted anywhere, but Kandee's dad is a repeat 4 x DUI offender and has spent time behind bars for it. He started a company called Never Drive Drunk (which offered rides home for a price). He got busted driving drunk in one of the company cars that had the Never Drive Drunk advertising on it. This was late 2009 in the Reno area.

Having a dad with an alcohol problem explains some of KJ's issues, but does not excuse them.

sharonnkat wrote:Have not seen this posted anywhere, but Kandee's dad is a repeat 4 x DUI offender and has spent time behind bars for it. He started a company called Never Drive Drunk (which offered rides home for a price). He got busted driving drunk in one of the company cars that had the Never Drive Drunk advertising on it. This was late 2009 in the Reno area.

She also listed on the records as being on the board of directors or as an owner, I can't recall which. It's public record though.

MeLu wrote:

sharonnkat wrote:Have not seen this posted anywhere, but Kandee's dad is a repeat 4 x DUI offender and has spent time behind bars for it. He started a company called Never Drive Drunk (which offered rides home for a price). He got busted driving drunk in one of the company cars that had the Never Drive Drunk advertising on it. This was late 2009 in the Reno area.

She also listed on the records as being on the board of directors or as an owner, I can't recall which. It's public record though.

Yes, she is listed as Director and Treasurer. The officer/corporate filing was due 4/2010..not done. The commercial registered agent resigned 6/2010. The corporate documents were not completed in a timely manner so the Domestic Non-Profit Corporation status is in default.

Something like this is a good cause and for 100 bucks she could reinstate and do a good thing.

her grandma is homophobic? what about kandee & tiffany?

sarahdit wrote:her grandma is homophobic? what about kandee & tiffany?

Kandee's grandmother, Barbara Johnson, was a born-again Christian. According to these folks, they don't HATE homosexuals, but they do believe that it is an abomination/sin.

http://www.aboundingjoy.com/Bible%20studies/homosexuality-01.htm

Not sure what Kandee and her sister think about homosexuality.

sharonnkat wrote:Kandee's grandmother was Barbara Johnson, the popular Christian author and speaker. She lived in La Habra, CA (suburban Los Angeles) and died in the Palm Springs area.

Having a grandma who lives in Los Angeles County must be Kandee's way of justifying that she "grew up in Los Angeles". La Habra is a middle class city, nothing special, and a good 30 min (longer in traffic) drive to Beverly Hills or the West Side of LA where she tends to post many of her recent photos of her shopping and staying. There is also mention of them living in a mobil home (snark - a double wide?).

Grandma Johnson's bio says that she only has 3 sons, 2 died prior to KJ's birth, 1 remaining who was gay and was alienated from the family. That started off Barbara's ministry to families with gay family members. Evidently, he later renounced his gayness and turned straight and rededicated himself to being a Christian (not sure how you do that, but ok).

Does anyone know if Barbara Johnson is KJ's mom's mother then? Or... Is KJ's father the remaining son who was gay then straight?

Barbara Johnson has a foundation to continue her work and to sell her books (many). Some articles mention only 2 grandkids (KJ and her sister).

Curious about this relationship and how it may impact some of KJ's behavior and statements.

La Habra is in Orange County btw. It actually IS a really nice area but nowhere near Beverly Hills. It's far in traffic ( at least an hour). I know this because I live near it (but not in that city). It really isn't anything "special".

truthhurts92 wrote:

sharonnkat wrote:Kandee's grandmother was Barbara Johnson, the popular Christian author and speaker. She lived in La Habra, CA (suburban Los Angeles) and died in the Palm Springs area.

Having a grandma who lives in Los Angeles County must be Kandee's way of justifying that she "grew up in Los Angeles". La Habra is a middle class city, nothing special, and a good 30 min (longer in traffic) drive to Beverly Hills or the West Side of LA where she tends to post many of her recent photos of her shopping and staying. There is also mention of them living in a mobil home (snark - a double wide?).

Grandma Johnson's bio says that she only has 3 sons, 2 died prior to KJ's birth, 1 remaining who was gay and was alienated from the family. That started off Barbara's ministry to families with gay family members. Evidently, he later renounced his gayness and turned straight and rededicated himself to being a Christian (not sure how you do that, but ok).

Does anyone know if Barbara Johnson is KJ's mom's mother then? Or... Is KJ's father the remaining son who was gay then straight?

Barbara Johnson has a foundation to continue her work and to sell her books (many). Some articles mention only 2 grandkids (KJ and her sister).

Curious about this relationship and how it may impact some of KJ's behavior and statements.

La Habra is in Orange County btw. It actually IS a really nice area but nowhere near Beverly Hills. It's far in traffic ( at least an hour). I know this because I live near it (but not in that city). It really isn't anything "special".

I live in Whittier, which is the next city over. Like Whittier, La Habra has good areas and bad areas. Totally forgot it is in the OC and not LA County. I'm older than Kandee, but when I was in high school (1980's), we also "just had" to hang out on LA's west side. It was the cool thing to do.

When KJ came out here to visit her grandparents, she was probably drawn to that area too. There are not many "cool" things around here. ha.

On her youtube channel, Barbara Johnson says her Gay son's name was David. If Kandee's father really started the "Never Drive Drunk" company, then he isn't the gay son coz according to the story below, the owner of "Never Drive Drunk" is Barney Johnson:
http://www.ktvn.com/story/10970925/new-local-business-lets-people-never-drive-drunk?redirected=true

So if Barbara is Kandee's grandmother, then she had 4 sons and not 3 but she only chose to talk about the 3 who either died tragically or were gay.. very strange

saratee wrote:On her youtube channel, Barbara Johnson says her Gay son's name was David. If Kandee's father really started the "Never Drive Drunk" company, then he isn't the gay son coz according to the story below, the owner of "Never Drive Drunk" is Barney Johnson:
http://www.ktvn.com/story/10970925/new-local-business-lets-people-never-drive-drunk?redirected=true

So if Barbara is Kandee's grandmother, then she had 4 sons and not 3 but she only chose to talk about the 3 who either died tragically or were gay.. very strange

From Barbara Johnson's obituary:


Barbara Johnson lost two sons, one in Vietnam and one at the hands of a drunk driver. Another was estranged for several years.
Barbara is survived by her sons David and Dean, two granddaughters, Kandy and Tiffany, and two great grandchildren.


Her son, Dean, is known as Barney and is Kandee and Tiffany's father.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/barbara_johnson/obituary/prweb538222.htm

I started reading this thread sheerly out of curiosity. And then I clicked on the website for Barbara's books. Oh. My. God. They're the SAME motivational books my mom read when I was growing up! She still has them to this day! My jaw just dropped.

I remember being 10 or 11 and my mom would read me passages from those books and I was just like "I don't get it. Mom, this stuff doesn't make sense. Why are you reading this?" and it wasn't that I didn't understand it.. There was just something about Barbara's advice and wisdom that seemed.... off.

Funny how 14 years later, I find Kandee and it turns out she's just as crazy as her grandmother. What are the odds?!

I'm tempted to ask my mom if I can borrow those books now.

To the people talking about the area of La Habra itself I just want to say there are seriously sketchy parts in La Habra. I actually lived there for about 10 years when I was younger (I attended El Cerrito Elementary). You could hear gunshots daily and non-stop sirens. I don't know what it is like now but I can tell you in the early 90's La Habra had a serious gang problem. Proximity to Orange County doesn't really mean anything because areas within cities vary drastically in California. La Habra is also close to Compton and Chino. Like I said, it maight have changed since I lived there, but in the 90's it had some serious problems.

Holy cow. I only clicked on this thread because I also was curious. When i saw the Kandee "urgent message" i immediate saw a televangelist in there, and now it's really VERY clear why. Does any know if it's become general knowledge that her grandmother shunned a son because he was gay? I would think that a good portion of her following would drop because of that. I know from looking at the glaminar photos that there are plenty of gay men who follow her.

Im not saying that you should "burn" for the opinions and thoughts of your family, but you should make your stance known if it is different than theirs. If publicly made aware of her grandmothers anti-gay preachings, she should be forced to come out and publicly denounce those opinions. If she doesn't then there is definitely bigotry there.. Not that gays aren't so bad that their money isn't still green.. (sarcasm)

Barbara Johnson didn't "shun" her gay son at all. It was his choice to distance himself from the family & it was that which broke her heart. She loved him deeply & tried to find him. In one book she describes how she went to a choir event only because she thought that he might be there. When he saw her, he ran out the back...

But it ended happily. He realized how much his parents loved him, stopped running & made contact with them again. :-)

That poor man...he had to give up who he is just to have his family? That must be really hard.

hmm she said that he left them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl62XmuyBsk

DarlingDear wrote:hmm she said that he left them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl62XmuyBsk

Thank you!
I was looking for that video everywhere.
I wonder if Barbara changed her story up depending on how the audience reacted like Kandee did?

I'm also curious as to which story is the true one. I'm obv more inclined to believe the one coming from her own mouth that is right in front of me, but considering how Kandee is... I have no idea.

RJBMama wrote:

DarlingDear wrote:hmm she said that he left them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl62XmuyBsk

Thank you!
I was looking for that video everywhere.
I wonder if Barbara changed her story up depending on how the audience reacted like Kandee did?

I'm also curious as to which story is the true one. I'm obv more inclined to believe the one coming from her own mouth that is right in front of me, but considering how Kandee is... I have no idea.

Well I'm not sure if it's fair to judge her just cause Kandee is a nut job...this women even says in another video I saw that even though it was her son that left the family it was her fault for not being more understanding, she dosnt play the victim the same way Kandee does.

This woman seems to be funny and very well spoken...though I may not have the same beliefs as her so far I respect her.

But I feel like a little more reading on her is needed for me to know how I feel about her.