Jessica Hahn

Jessica Hahn (born July 7, 1959 in Massapequa, New York) is a model, actress, and former church secretary best known for her sex scandal with televangelist Jim Bakker.

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, for "about 15 minutes."^[1] Later, she overheard Bakker comment to another PTL staffer, "Did you get her too?"

In a 1997 book, "I Was Wrong," Bakker disputes this account, claiming that he was "set up" and that the sex was consensual. ^[2]

Hahn burst into the media limelight following Bakker's announcement on March 19, 1987 that he was stepping down as head of PTL and Heritage USA, pending the imminent disclosure of the sexual encounter and that he would be replaced by televangelist Jerry Falwell. Investigative journalists and auditors hired by Falwell uncovered $265,000 in hush money paid to Hahn as well as serious financial irregularities that led to the collapse of the PTL empire and Bakker's conviction.

Hahn subsequently used the notoriety she had gained by appearing nude in several Playboy magazine pictorials and videos, and appeared in a variety of TV shows, including Married... with Children. She also gained notoriety from her relationship with comedian Sam Kinison, and appeared in his music video for "Wild Thing" in 1988. She often appears in person and as a call-in guest on The Howard Stern Show on Sirius satellite radio.

She lives in Beverly Hills.

On Sunday, February 10, 2008, Hahn's longtime boyfriend Ron Leavitt died of lung cancer at his home. Hahn spoke with Howard Stern on his radio show and said he was diagnosed with lung cancer a week before his death.^[3]

Filmography

• Hollywood: The Movie (1996) (V) as Esther
• Unhappily Ever After as Miss Taylor (3 episodes, 1995)
• Amanda & the Alien (1995) (TV) as TV Host
• Blossom as Girl #1 (1 episode, 1992)
• Dream On as Reporter 1 (1 episode, 1992)
• Bikini Summer II (1992) as Marilyn
• Married with Children as Ricki (1 episode, 1991)

Notes

References

• Richard N. Ostling (April 6, 1987). "TV's Unholy Row: A sex-and-money scandal tarnishes electronic evangelism". Time Magazine. http://time-proxy.yaga.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,963939,00.html?internalid=ACA. 
• "Magazine Buys Story From Jessica Hahn". New York Times. July 14, 1987. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE0DB1438F937A25754C0A961948260. 
• Andrew L. Yarrow (September 28, 1987). "Celebrities of Summer Are Cashing In". New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40716FC355C0C7B8EDDA00894DF484D81. 
• "Church Chat, Season 13: Episode 6, Saturday Night Live transcript". December 5, 1987. http://snltranscripts.jt.org/87/87fchurchchat.phtml. 
• "Judge Orders Ex-PTL Secretary To Repay Hush Money to Ministry". New York Times. July 21, 1988. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0711FB3E590C728EDDAE0894D0484D81. 
• "Transcript of interview with Larry King". CNN. July 14, 2005. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0507/14/lkl.01.html. 

External links

• Jessica Hahn at the Internet Movie Database