The appropriately named John Crist is identified as a ‘Christian’ standup comedian, whatever that might mean. He was due to have a Netflix holiday special but that has been put on hold following allegations by several women that he “used his celebrity status and Christian reputation to sexually harass women.”
In addition to the special, Crist was scheduled to release a book in March titled “Untag Me: The Subtle Art of Appearing Better Than You Really Are.” Its publisher — WaterBrook, a Christian imprint of Penguin Random House — sent a statement to RNS saying it was postponing publication of the book.
Those decisions come amid backlash against the comedian following allegations of sexual misconduct that first were reported Wednesday by Charisma, a charismatic Christian magazine.
According to Charisma, “The allegations include, but are not limited to, individually sexting multiple women during the same time period, initiating sexual relationships with married women and women in committed relationships, offering show tickets in exchange for sexual favors and repeatedly calling these women late at night while drunk.”
To his credit, though he was a little vague about what he was actually admitting to have done, he has given a real apology, not the non-apology that we have seen so often that takes the form “I am sorry if you were offended”.
In a statement provided to the magazine, Crist apologized for what he called “destructive and sinful” behavior.
“Over the past number of years, various women have accused me of behavior that has been hurtful to them. While I am not guilty of everything I’ve been accused of, I confess to being guilty of this—I have treated relationships with women far too casually, in some cases even recklessly,” Crist said in the statement published in full on Charisma’s website.
…“I am sorry for the hurt and pain I have caused these women and will continue to seek their forgiveness. I have also hurt the name of Jesus and have sought His forgiveness,” he said.
He could reinvent himself as an atheist and he’d fit right in.
“I have also hurt the name of Jesus and have sought His forgiveness,”
Sure, and whenever I hurt the name of Zeus or Shiva, I seek their forgiveness, too. Pretty easy, really. They never object. In fact, they never say anything, but it makes me appear more repentant, and that’s what truly matters.
Maybe I’m too cynical, but I suspect that Crist is performing a psychodrama of repentance so that he can cash in on the next phase, which would be forgiveness and even approbation from the community.
If you can fake sincerity, you’ve got it made, as someone or other once said.
Yeah, that was just the Christian version of the non-apology.
“While I am not guilty of everything I’ve been accused of, I confess to being guilty of this—I have treated relationships with women far too casually” translates to, “I’m not admitting to anything criminal or anything they can sue me for, but wimmenz be sacred, so if I’m guilty of not acting like I believe that, I hope Jeezus will forgive me (and that nobody sues me -- buy my book when it’s published), Praise the Lord!”
The above @4 was informed by Vic Mignogna’s case (google if you have an afternoon to waste going down that rabbit hole), a voice actor who goes around preaching his Christian bona fides while sexually harassing some underage convention goers as well as his coworkers. When, after more than 15 years of people sweeping his behavior under the rug, the shit finally hit the fan, he came out with one of these, “I’m sorry if I hurt anyone, I didn’t mean to, now I’m going to take a break and pray and reflect on my behavior, blah, blah, blah,” and then turned around two weeks later and sued two of his accusers and the company he’d worked for for defamation to the tune of 5 mil. Plus siccing the remnants of Gamergate on them, which culminated in death threats to them, a lawyer who was documenting the case on Twitter for his own amusement, AND the judge who dismissed his case (in part because in his deposition he admitted to pretty much everything they’d been saying, plus he has the most fuckwitted lawyers this side of Giuliani).
So forgive me if I’m a bit cynical about Christian pleas for forgiveness.
you are far, far too generous Mano.
A real apology admits specific instances of bad behavior, not the generalizations he throws out.
What was the title of his book again? The Subtle Art of Appearing Better Than You Really Are? I’d say we see the expert at work.