TCA '09: Controversial Former Minister Subject of Latest HBO Doc
Documentary Details Ted Haggard’s Controversial Past
By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 1/9/2009 11:42:00 AM
Complete MCN TCA Coverage
Los Angeles—Defrocked minister Ted Haggard is breaking his silence about his fall from grace as a minister in an upcoming HBO documentary The Trials of Ted Haggard.
Haggard and his family participated in the documentary on the premium channel because "now we have the freedom to answer the questions we want to answer," the former clergyman said to critics here.
Over two years ago, a male prostitute publicly announced he'd had a relationship with Haggard and sold the pastor crystal meth. The family has not been able to talk about their personal trials, they said, because the leadership of Haggard's denomination, the National Association of Evangelicals, required Haggard to sign a contract when left the church agreeing to not talk to the media for at least two years. In return, the church paid his salary for a year, continued his insurance benefits and gave him his car.
Haggard now is a life insurance salesman.
"I think sexuality is confusing and complex" today, he said. After discussing his sexual issues with a therapist and his family, Haggard says he's now thoroughly satisfied with his relationship with his wife, he said. As for homosexuality, "all people fall short of the principals they believe in," he said, adding he now knows more about hatred then he did before and embraces the necessity for people not to judge one another.
As for the drugs, "I grew up in a sheltered, protected way," he said, adding he didn't really know what he bought. Without the scandal, he had the potential to become dependent on drugs, he added.
Prompted by a questioner, he apologized to Mike Jones, the prostitute with whom he had a relationship. "I shouldn't have done it," he said of the relationship.
No related content found.
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
