Christian comedian John Crist returns online after months of silence in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal.
The 36-year-old posted a video on Facebook on Wednesday thanking his fans for supporting him on his journey to recovery. Crist, who became popular with his viral videos poking fun at Christian culture, said the eight months away from the Internet and his phone has “felt like forever,” reports Canada-based Christian music radio station, CHVN Radio.
I make a living, all my comedy videos were pointing out hypocrisy in a lot of ways…perhaps, the most embarrassing part of this whole thing is that the biggest hypocrite in all this was me. —John Crist
Crist disclosed that he spent four months in a treatment facility and his sister would send letters and messages from people who expressed concern and prayed for his healing. “Incredibly humbled to receive that support. Certainly, certainly undeserved based on decisions that I made in my personal life, but incredibly humbling to receive,” he said.
The comedian thought that fans would look down on him and judge him for his mistakes, but what he felt was the opposite. He knows that people support not the poor decisions he made, but the outpouring of love was for his road to recovery.
In the video, titled “A message from me :)” Crist said he takes full responsibility for the choices he made in the past, but he did not specify the wrongdoing he committed nor apologized to his fans or victims.
Charisma Magazine published an article in November 2019 exposing Crist’s sexual misconduct against women. The article revealed that several witnesses came forward and accused the comedian of using his popularity to pressure young women to give him sexual favors.
“I want to say that I made a lot of poor choices in my personal life,” Crist said in the video. “I’ve made a lot of decisions that hurt myself, and hurt other people, and that embarrassed myself, and that had consequences and I can look you in the eye and own that.”
The popular Christian confessed of having a problem and getting all the help he needed in the past months. He blamed no one but himself. During his sabbatical, he said he took the time to “fix the broken pieces of myself.” His ordeal made him realize that he can also be part of the solution.
Crist admitted that, “I make a living, all my comedy videos were pointing out hypocrisy in a lot of ways…perhaps, the most embarrassing part of this whole thing is that the biggest hypocrite in all this was me.”
Crist appreciated the people who did not give up on him despite the predicament he’s in. He ended the video with, “So, thank you all for the love and support and care. It truly meant the world and I’m grateful that you guys have been on this journey with me. I can’t wait for the future, I’ll see you soon.”
