Jessica Hahn (born July 7, 1959) is an American model and actress. She accused

televangelist Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-pr ...

Jim Bakker James Orsen Bakker (; born January 2, 1940) is an American televangelist and convicted fraudster. Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program '' The PTL Club'' and its cable television platform, the PTL Satellite Network, with ...

of rape while she was employed as a church secretary. She frequently appeared on ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

'' throughout the late 1980s and into the 2000s.

Jim Bakker scandal

Hahn first came to public attention following Jim Bakker's announcement on March 19, 1987, that he was stepping down as head of

PTL Satellite Network The PTL Television Network, often referred to as simply PTL, is an American evangelical Christian television network originally located in Fort Mill, South Carolina, founded by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in 1974 and dedicated in April 1977. During ...

and

Heritage USA Heritage USA was an American Christian-themed water park, theme park and residential complex in Fort Mill, South Carolina, built by televangelist Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye Bakker, founders of ''The PTL Club''. The park, which occupie ...

, pending the imminent disclosure of a sexual encounter between the two of them. According to Hahn, on the afternoon of December 6, 1980, when she was a 21-year-old church secretary, she was drugged and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

d by Bakker and another

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

John Wesley Fletcher John Wesley Fletcher (January 24, 1940 – June 21, 1996) was an American defrocked Assemblies of God pastor, known for his role in the PTL scandal involving Tammy Faye Bakker and Jim Bakker. Early life Fletcher was born in Durham, North Caroli ...

. Hahn was given a $279,000 () pay-off for her silence, which was paid with PTL's funds to Hahn through Bakker associate

Roe Messner Ronald Roe Messner (born August 1, 1935) is an American building contractor who has built more than 1,700 churches, including several megachurches. Having divorced his first wife, he married televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in 1993 after her di ...

. Bakker, who made all of the financial decisions for the PTL organization, allegedly kept

two sets of books The concept of "two sets of books" refers to the practice of attempting to hide or disguise certain financial transactions from outsiders by having a set of fraudulent accounting records (or "books") for official use and another, the real set, f ...

to conceal the accounting irregularities. Reporters from ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

'', led by Charles Shepard, investigated and published a series of articles regarding the PTL organization's finances. This precipitated Bakker's resignation and the publication of Hahn's claims. In his 1997 book, ''I Was Wrong'', Bakker disputed Hahn's account, claiming that he was "set up" and that the sex was consensual.

Acting and modeling career

After the public revelation of the Bakker scandal, Hahn posed nude for ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' (November 1987, December 1987 and September 1988) and videos and appeared in several television shows, including '' Married... with Children''. She was also known for her frequent appearances on ''

'' throughout the late 1980s and into the 2000s.

Personal life

Hahn was born in Massapequa, New York and graduated from

Massapequa High School Massapequa High School is a public high school located in Massapequa, New York, United States, for students in grades 10 through 12. As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,825 students and 142.4 classroom teachers (on an ...

. She had a relationship with comedian

Sam Kinison Samuel Burl Kinison ( ; December 8, 1953 – April 10, 1992) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. A former Pentecostal preacher, he performed stand-up routines that were characterized by intense sudden tirades, punctuated with his distinc ...

and appeared in his music video for "Wild Thing" in 1988. In 1991, she began a relationship with the co-creator of '' Married...with Children'',

Ron Leavitt Ronald Leavitt (November 7, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American television writer and producer. He was the co-creator (with Michael G. Moye) of the American television show '' Married... with Children''. The show's 259 episodes over ...

, which continued until his death in 2008. In December 2017, Hahn disclosed that she is married to Frank Lloyd (a film stuntman), is no longer active in show business, and lives on a ranch north of Los Angeles. Hahn remains a committed Christian.

Filmography

* "Wild Thing" music video by Sam Kinison (1988) * "Critical Mass" music video by Nuclear Assault (1989) * '' Married... with Children'' as Ricki (1 episode, 1991) * "Runnin" music video by Brittiana, directed by Bryan Michael Stoller 1992 * ''Bikini Summer II'' (1992) as Marilyn * '' Dream On'' as Reporter 1 (1 episode, 1992) * '' Blossom'' as Girl #1 (1 episode, 1992) * ''

Amanda and the Alien ''Amanda and the Alien'' (or ''Alien Love'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1995 made-for-cable science fiction comedy film directed by Jon Kroll and starring Nicole Eggert as Amanda Patterson. It premiered on Showtime (TV network), Showtime on Augus ...

'' (1995) (TV) as TV Host * ''

Unhappily Ever After ''Unhappily Ever After'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for 100 episodes on The WB from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of five seasons. The series was produced by Touchstone Television. Synopsis The series fo ...

'' as Miss Taylor (3 episodes, 1995) * ''Hollywood: The Movie'' (1996) (V) as Esther

References

External links