Jessica Hahn

Jessica Hahn (born July 7, 1959) is an American model and actress. She accused televangelist Jim Bakker of rape while she was employed as a church secretary. She frequently appeared on The Howard Stern Show throughout the late 1980s and into the 2000s.

Jessica Hahn
Born (1959-07-07) July 7, 1959
Massapequa, New York, U.S.
OccupationActress, model
Years active1987–1996
Spouse(s)Frank Lloyd
Partner(s)Ron Leavitt, 1991–2008 (his death)

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 and Heritage USA, 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 raped by Bakker and another preacher, John Wesley Fletcher.[1] 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.[1] Bakker, who made all of the financial decisions for the PTL organization, allegedly kept two sets of books to conceal the accounting irregularities. Reporters from The Charlotte Observer, led by Charles Shepard, investigated and published a series of articles regarding the PTL organization's finances.[2] 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.[3]

Acting and modeling career

After the public revelation of the Bakker scandal, Hahn posed nude for Playboy (November 1987, December 1987 and September 1988)[4] and videos and appeared in several television shows, including Married... with Children. She was also known for her frequent appearances on The Howard Stern Show throughout the late 1980s and into the 2000s.

Personal life

Hahn was born in Massapequa, New York and graduated from Massapequa High School.[5] She had a relationship with comedian Sam Kinison 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, which continued until his death in 2008.[6][7]

In December 2017, Hahn disclosed that she is married to Frank Lloyd (a film stuntman), is no longer active in show business, and lives on a ranch north of Los Angeles.[8][9] Hahn remains a committed Christian.[10]

Filmography

References
  1. "Larry King Live Interview with Jessica Hahn (rush transcript)". CNN. July 14, 2005. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
  2. Ostling, Richard N. (August 3, 1987). "Enterprising Evangelism". Time. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
  3. Jim Bakker (1997). I Was Wrong: The Untold Story of the Shocking Journey from PTL Power to Prison and Beyond. Thomas Nelson. p. 512. ISBN 978-0-7852-7136-9.
  4. List of people in Playboy 1980–89#1987
  5. Ketcham, Diane (February 12, 1995). "ABOUT LONG ISLAND; At the Repository of High School Memories". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2017. Copies of The Sachem, as the Massapequa book is called, are scattered throughout the collection. A long-haired Jerry Seinfeld pops out of the pages of 1972. In '74, Mr. Buttafuoco and his wife graduated. There is just one comment under Mr. Buttafuoco's picture. It says, 'I love Mary Jo.' Other graduates of the Massapequa schools include the Baldwin brothers, Alexander, '76, class president; Dan, '79; Billy, '81, and Stephen, '84. In Ms. Hahn's Class of '77 were also Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats, Tim Van Patten, an actor and Brian Baldinger, a professional football player.
  6. "Married with Children episode 'So This Is How Sinatra Felt (1991)' trivia". IMDb. 1991. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  7. "So why did the LA Times leave Jessica Hahn out of Ron Leavitt's obituary?". Tabloid Baby. February 12, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  8. "Disgraced TV evangelist Jim Bakker persists, preaching the Apocalypse". The Garden Island. February 20, 2018.
  9. Funk, Tim (December 16, 2017). "Jessica Hahn, woman at center of televangelist's fall 30 years ago, confronts her past". News and Observer. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  10. https://www.newsobserver.com/living/article189940794.html

Further reading
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