The famed teleevangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who became a household name but was brought down by sex scandals, died on July 1 at age 90. He suffered from cardiac arrest on June 15, and the passing was announced through his Facebook page.
“Today, our hearts are heavy as we share that Brother Swaggart has finished his earthly race and entered into the presence of His Savior, Jesus Christ. Today was the day he has sung about for decades. He met his beloved Savior and entered the portals of glory. At the same time, we rejoice knowing that we will see him again one day,” the post read.
Born on March 15, 1935, in Ferriday, Louisiana, Jimmy Swaggart became a Pentecostal preacher in the 1950s. The church culture was deeply rooted in his family, with his cousins being rock and roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis and country singer Mickey Gilley.
Swaggart attempted a music career, but the church became his life. He became a full-time evangelist in the late 1950s and was ordained by the Assemblies of God in 1961.
Following the release of several gospel albums over the next decade, Swaggart began preaching on national television, expanding his audience to millions across the country. He was one of the most popular and successful televangelists, and through his contributions, his business was estimated to be worth more than $140 million.
Jimmy Swaggart – sex scandal
Although Jimmy Swaggart became a household name, sex scandals brought down his career. In 1988, he was caught on camera having intercourse with a sex worker, and several other sex scandals followed.
Swaggart was caught with a prostitute named Debra Murphree in New Orleans in 1988. Police Officer Randy Gorman, the son of the defrocked minister Marvin Gorman, saw him. Marvin Gorman and Jimmy Swaggart were rivals, and their relationship at the time was far from good. Swaggart had revealed, some years earlier, that Marvin Gorman had committed adultery on at least one occasion, which cost him his ministry. While a lawsuit was filed against Swaggart, as Gorman claimed his teleevangelist rival had made false allegations against him, it didn’t end there.
Gorman was reported to have hired a private detective to photograph Swaggart with Murphree at a motel in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. In an interview with Penthouse magazine shortly after, Debra Murphree stated that she and the televangelist had met 20 times.
Swaggart reportedly paid $30 to $40 for each meeting after he had picked her up in his Lincoln Town Car. Murphree, who would plead guilty to a charge of prostitution, claimed Swaggard asked her to perform ‘obscene acts’ while he was masturbating.
‘He asked me to unbutton my blouse and unzip my pants in the car while he drove around… Once he asked me to hop out naked in broad daylight in front of strangers so he could see the shock on their faces,’ Murphree explained. “He’d always try to talk me into pulling my pants off and facing him sideways with legs spread. I said, ‘No, I’m not going to take my pants off in the car.”
Jimmy Swaggart ‘tried covering it up’
As per a 1988 article from UPI, the day after Swaggart was caught, Marvin Gorman confronted his rival with the evidence of his sexual misconduct. Trying to repair the damage, Swaggart offered to help Gorman get defrocked to be able to return to television preaching. Moreover, Jimmy Swaggart was also said to have offered Gorman to appear on his television show, and although Marvin said he’d think about it, he was not interested.
Gorman gave Swaggart an ultimatum: You have four months to deal with the “moral problems,” or else the special misconduct will be disclosed. Swaggart didn’t meet the deadline, Gorman exposed Swaggart, and the sex scandal was a fact.
Shortly after the sex scandal was revealed, Jimmy Swaggart performed a sermon where he cried and apologized. However, he never mentioned that he had met the sex worker.
“I have sinned against you,” Swaggart said during the sermon. “I beg you to forgive me.”
Later the same year, Swaggart resigned from the Assemblies of God. The Assemblies of God wanted him to go to rehab for two years, as well as step away from preaching for a year, stating his “moral failure” as a cause. However, Staggart rejected it and was therefore defrocked.
Jimmy Swaggart’s popularity sank, and although he would continue preaching as a televangelist, the audience was reduced. In 2009, he launched an international Christian television network named SonLife Broadcasting Network.
