Ted Haggard on Oprah January 27, 2009

Ted Haggard on Oprah

By Guest Contributor
January 27, 2009

I’ll be working all day, but Ted Haggard is going to be on Oprah on Wednesday.

Please provide me with the Cliffsnotes version in the comments if you see it!

And in the meantime, check out the breaking story about his other male lover, Grant Haas — a younger guy who was paid off by Haggard’s former church:

… Brady Boyd, senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., said a young man announced his alleged inappropriate relationship with Haggard shortly after Haggard’s sex and drug scandal in 2006.

Boyd said the 25-year-old man, whom the Associated Press (AP) identified Tuesday by name, received “countless hours of prayer and ministry” before deciding to hire an attorney in 2007. The lawyer negotiated with New Life’s insurance company for a settlement, which Boyd said was paid through the insurance, not through tithes.

The young man said he was to be paid $179,000 through 2009, which was to pay for his college education and counseling, the AP reported today…

That’s not nearly detailed enough.

Here’s what you want to hear:

Haas told KRDO that one night in Cripple Creek, a casino town west of Colorado Springs, Haggard “asked me if we were going to be godly or bad that night.” He said he told Haggard that he wanted him just to be his friend and pastor _ but Haggard masturbated in front of him.

Haas also said Haggard at certain times sent him between 1,000 and 2,000 text message a month, some describing his sexual experiences and drug use from the road.

This makes you wonder how many other men there were who have not come forth with their stories…

(Thanks to Donna for the link!)

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  • Derek

    That’s interesting. I knew a Grant Haas growing up. He was very religious, and would be 25 right now.

  • Derek

  • You know I couldn’t care less what Ted does with his cock as long as it’s with someone who consents. I’m more interested in why the church seems to lap this scandal up and how they react to it.

  • Actually, this is all quite sad. But I’m happy to see that he may be coming out. A lot of other evangelical Christians may feel able to come out after that, who knows. And maybe other pastors who are gay or bi will feel able to take a different direction with their churches and be honest, rather than portraying homophobia outwardly to cover their true identities. I would like to see him start a new “open and affirming” evangelical church. Who knows, maybe he could be a real voice for change.

  • SarahH

    I agree with writerdd about this being more sad than horrifying. If public figures (both religious and secular) weren’t pressured to be seen as almost asexual, “normal” stodgy people, they wouldn’t go to such unhealthy lengths to deprive themselves of pleasure and sometimes unsavory lengths to eventually get the pleasure they need.

    So long as no crimes are being committed, I think the sexual lives of all public figures should be irrelevant – however, too many people enjoy reading about scandal for certain elements of the press to stop obsessing.

    Instead, we end up with politicians from all parts of the liberal-conservative spectrum, pastors, teachers, etc. hiding relationships or lying about past affairs and eventually suffering tons of fallback for the lying part (not to mention damage to their reputations, just as they’d feared, due to the nature of the relationship).

    It’s all sick.

  • Joanna

    ABC Nightline is going to have a program about this subject…for those of you that don’t have cable access for the HBO program or are working during the day for Oprah. Not sure what night..Friday maybe? I forget.

    Personally, I think this is just one more way Haggard is getting attention he doesn’t deserve. One more “reality show” formatted performance piece.

    He can have his second chance but I wish it was less public…if his wife forgives him, that’s true love. He’s not a criminal; more like a crooked salesman to be wary about. Hard to trust his sincerity.

    Personally, I can’t help thinking he’s just trying to profit from this whole thing. Glorying in the attention.

  • i am a dodt

    I may be wrong, but doesn’t the article say that Haas said no? A consensual relationship is one thing, but this doesn’t seem like it was, at least initially, consensual.

  • It’s time for you to get a DVR/TIVO, Hemant!!!

  • More here on Colorado Public Radio:
    “The Trials of Ted Haggard” Documentary

  • AxeGrrl

    writerdd said:

    But I’m happy to see that he may be coming out.

    I guess you didn’t see his appearance on Oprah then ~ he declared he was a ‘heterosexual with complications’ and chalked it all up to ‘demons’ (surprise, surprise).

    However, it WAS nice to see Oprah actually ‘take a stand’ and NOT accept/endorse something Haggard’s wife said ~ his wife said something to the effect of ‘our ‘feelings’ don’t make us who we are’, and Oprah (much to my surprise/joy) interrupted and said she didn’t agree, and then talked about all the gay people she knows…….to say that they ALL ‘knew’ their orientation since they were ‘little people’.

    Nice to see, especially because Oprah disappoints me so often on such issues.

  • Maria

    he declared he was a ‘heterosexual with complications’

    LOL. Sounds like he might actually be bisexual (if he really does enjoy sleeping with his wife). Do bad he won’t admit it. He does seem to be on the “preffering men” side though.

  • I guess you didn’t see his appearance on Oprah then ~ he declared he was a ‘heterosexual with complications’ and chalked it all up to ‘demons’ (surprise, surprise).

    I watched it last night. I think he had made some impressive progress but I am also disappointed. I guess not really surprised since apparently is going back to his old life and I know how difficult it is to leave evangelical Christianity. I will also not be surprised for the same problems to crop up again in the future because, his wife even more than Ted himself, is still in denial.

    I do think it’s possible and OK for a gay or bi-sexual man who is married to want to keep the family together and to truly love his wife. In that case, the problem is not that he is attracted to other men, but that he cheated on his wife. It is no more or less right to cheat on your spouse with someone of the same sex than it is to cheat with someone of the opposite sex. They did not touch on this idea at all on Oprah.

    And they didn’t discuss the drug addiction at all. I wonder if that will be covered at all in the HBO documentary. Did he go to rehab?

  • absent sway

    I enjoyed the Oprah interview; something that stood out was his children feeling partially relieved that, in spite of all the pain, they could relate to their father better when he was not on a pedestal.