John Crist is a publicly known Christian stand up comedian who became very popular with his YouTube videos.
Some of his popular videos include funny point of views on stereotypical things that Christians say or do such as “Church Hunters” or Chick-fil-A pick up lines.”
Crist’s popularity grew more when he started to team up and make videos with Trey Kennedy, another comedian who has grown a following from his videos on YouTube. Some of their most popular collaborations are “Soon to be engaged girls be like” and “Single girls on Valentine’s Day.”
Due to Crist’s great success, he started to travel the states doing a stand-up comedy routine. Crist even did a pop up in Abilene at Beltway South. His tour quickly ended, however, after sexual assault claims came to light.
Due to the allegations, Netflix dropped the special it filmed with Crist called “John Crist I Ain’t Praying For That” and Crist’s Instagram activity has been almost non-existent, with his last post being Nov. 2.
Crist issued a public apology via email to Charisma stating, “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. My behavior has been destructive and sinful.”
He continues in his apology by referring to himself as a sex addict and is seeking treatment for his condition. He ends his apology by saying “I’m committed to getting healing and freedom from my sin and have decided to cancel my remaining tour dates this year and to postpone all future commitments in order to devote all my time and energy on getting healthy spiritually, mentally and physically.”
Since the news of the allegations, there have been some who have stood up for Crist amiss the allegations. Some have even gone to the lengths to make videos and uploaded them to YouTube stating that his struggles were sins that we can all fall victim too.
Crist’s popularity through his YouTube videos and Instagram posts has given people the ability to view Christian culture more light-heartedly. However, this does not excuses the actions he has been accused of us.
Christians should continue to pray for Crist and especially the victims of his actions, yet this should cause believers to be more vigilant and cautious of the public figures of faith.