Hillsong pastor Darnell Barrett steps down after infidelity scandal
Barrett sent a woman photos of himself shirtless in a pair of tight shorts that appear to show his penis erect.
The creative director of the Montclair, New Jersey chapter of Hillsong Church is resigning after he sent explicit photos to a woman on Instagram.
Pastor Darnell Barrett is claiming they were sent to one of his followers in error and not in an attempt to engage the woman in a sexual relationship.
The 32-year-old sent photos of himself shirtless in a pair of tight exercise shorts that appear to show his penis erect. The pictures were shared in a “close friends” Instastory post, however, he also sent them separately to a 30-year-old woman who used to volunteer with him at Hillsong.
According to an article in Daily Mail, Barrett reportedly followed up the photo with messages, writing: “Hey! I think I might’ve added you to my close friends list by accident. I’m so sorry. Trying to figure out how the hell to edit it.”
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Reportedly, he later claimed the photos were “some real raw s**t I send to my friends man. Lol.”
“Seriously, sorry about that.” he continued, “I guess.”
Daily Mail ran the photos and obtained the reported messages from the woman involved, who has not been identified. In one of the photos, Barrett wrote, “Depression and anxiety got the best of me in the last 30 hours. Barely got out of bed yesterday. I’m just proud of myself for getting to the gym today even if it was a cheap 30-minute workout. One of the insidious things about grief is its capricious nature. I’m learning to give myself grace in how I deal with it.”
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The woman later sent him a long, angry message in which she wrote it was clear that he wanted her to see his body. She said she then blocked Barrett’s account again.
Barrett is the second pastor affiliated with Hillsong Church to leave his post due to infidelity.
New York chapter pastor Carl Lentz was fired in November after what the church described as “moral failures.”
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Hillsong is a church that is popular with the famous. Actor Chris Pratt is a member, and the church has been visited by celebrities like singer Justin Bieber and the Kardashians.
Barrett appeared on an episode of The Steve Harvey Show over a year ago, where the father of two was reunited with his biological father.
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