This is all about the former SBC President, Johnny Hunt.
What I’m about to reveal is the latest update concerning him, and trust me on this, it gets deeply weird and bizarre.
Trigger warning: It also gets very sexually explicit.
First, before we get into the latest news I need to quickly fill you in on a bit of background. You might already be aware, but many will not, so please stick with me while I get everybody up to speed.
Johnny Hunt’s Sexual Abuse Revelation
Back into 2022 a metaphorical nuclear bombshell was dropped on the SBC via the independent Guidepost report. Their past president was a sexual abuser …
Hunt was mentioned in the report from Guidepost Solutions released Sunday on the alleged mishandling of sexual abuse claims by the SBC Executive Committee.
In the report, Guidepost said, “During our investigation, an SBC pastor and his wife came forward to report that SBC President Johnny Hunt (2008-2010) had sexually assaulted the wife on July 25, 2010.
Investigators say, “… their report was corroborated in part by a counseling minister and three other credible witnesses; and our investigators did not find Dr. Hunt’s statements related to the sexual assault allegation to be credible.”
At the time, when contacted for comment, Hunt denied it.
OK, for this next bit you are going to need a bucket. That’s because you may throw up after reading what follows.
The actual Guidepost description is rather damming and quite robust. It’s a lengthy extract from what is a very very long report. It also covers a lot of other sexual abuse committed by people within the SBC. Via that 2022 report on Page 149 we have this (yes, it is a long extract, but it warrants repeating it all) …
We conducted multiple interviews with the couple, who relayed the following information:
At the June 2010 annual meeting, Dr. Hunt invited the couple to come spend some time with him and his family at Panama City Beach while he was on sabbatical for the month of July. Pastor and Survivor looked up to Dr. Hunt as a spiritual father figure. Dr. Hunt is 24 years older than the couple, with daughters close in age to Survivor.
The couple did take a short vacation to the beach, staying at a separate location, and spent some time with the Hunts. At one point, Dr. Hunt kissed Survivor on the forehead and made inappropriate comments about Survivor’s figure.
After the trip, Pastor told Dr. Hunt that Survivor wanted to return to the beach before school started to hear Bobby Bowden speak at Highland Park Baptist Church in Panama City Beach. Pastor asked Dr. Hunt’s advice on securing a condo for her. Dr. Hunt gave him a phone number for a condo owner in his complex. Pastor called, and the owner told him to book directly on VRBO. Unbeknownst to Pastor, it was the unit next door to Dr. Hunt’s condo.
On Saturday July 24, 2010, Pastor texted Dr. Hunt and asked him to keep an eye out for Survivor, and Dr. Hunt responded that he would take care of her and that his family will keep an eye out. Pastor and Survivor said they trusted Dr. Hunt and were under the impression that Dr. Hunt and his family would be at the beach, and Survivor could contact them if she needed anything.
On July 25, 2010, Survivor drove to the beach and made several stops – the church to hear Bobby Bowden speak, her childhood home and school, and the first church her husband pastored. Upon arrival at the condo, Survivor texted her husband and Dr. Hunt a picture of the ocean, letting them both know that she had arrived.
Dr. Hunt texted her asking what condo she was in. She responded with the number, and he replied that it was right next door and told her to step out on the balcony. Survivor was surprised that the condo her husband hadrented was right next door to the Hunts’ condo. Dr. Hunt and Survivor conversed from their respective balconies. He brought her a bottle of water. Survivor recalled Dr. Hunt shifting the conversation from ministry to flattery about her appearance, her clothing, and her perfume. Dr. Hunt remarked that he was hot from being in the sun, and Survivor said he could come sit in the shade on her balcony. Survivor described the balconies as side by side with no ability to cross from one to the other. Survivor assumed that Dr. Hunt’s wife and family were inside his condo unit.
Dr. Hunt came into Survivor’s condo and they continued their conversation on Survivor’s balcony. Dr. Hunt asked her if she felt safe and she said that she did. She did not know why he would ask such a question. He then told the Survivor to put her feet on his knee; he touched them while commenting on their beauty and size. At one point, he remarked that he was uncomfortable sitting outside because he didn’t want to be seen so he suggested that they go inside.
Dr. Hunt pointed to the bedroom and said that he guessed that they didn’t need to go in there. She objected by emphatically saying “No!” In the living room, Dr. Hunt asked about ministry and church frustrations. Dr. Hunt slid closer while Survivor was telling a story of the stress that she and her husband were under at the church. He asked her more personal questions about her life – like “have you ever done anything like this before?” and “if she was wild growing up?” She was confused and not sure of what he meant.
Dr. Hunt then moved towards Survivor and proceeded to pull her shorts down, turn her over and stare at her bare backside. He made sexual remarks about her body and things he had imagined about her. During this time, Survivor felt frozen. Survivor said these were some of the longest moments of her life. She mustered the courage to ask him could she turn back over, and Dr. Hunt said yes. When she turned back over, she began to pull up her shorts. Dr. Hunt then pinned her to the couch, got on top of her, and pulled up her shirt. He sexually assaulted her with his hands and mouth. Suddenly, Dr. Hunt stopped and then stood up. Survivor pulled down her shirt. Survivor said she did not want him to ruin his ministry, at which he responded he did not want to ruin hers. But he then forced himself on her again by groping her, trying to pull her shirt down, and violently kissing her. Survivor did not reciprocate, but rather stood eyes open and very stiff, hoping he would just stop and leave. He finally stopped and left.
She locked the door behind him and felt very shocked, confused, and violated.
Reminder 1: He was 24 years older than her.
Reminder 2: He had just completed his second year as SBC President.
This is not simply the story of a guy who took advantage of a situation he found himself in. Hunt manufactured a situation by arranging for her to be in a condo next to his and alone, and then strove to take advance of this. The degree of screaming hypocrisy here is truly jaw-dropping. This was not just your average pastor, he was president of the entire Southern Baptist Convention.
What happened after he left?
The report carries on …
After he left, she tried to unpack her suitcase, and she fought back tears and felt overwhelmed by the shame of Dr. Hunt’s sexual assault. Later Dr. Hunt texted her about coming out on the balcony. She wanted to sort out what had just happened, so she went outside. In a brief exchange, Dr. Hunt stated that he would like to have sex with her three times a day. Survivor could not believe what she was hearing and could not get back inside her own condo quickly enough.
She of course told her husband. What they then faced were SBC directives to forgive, forget, move on, and never tell.
About here would be the right place for you to exclaim “Jesus”, but not in a devotional manner, instead as an explicative, and that would be wholly appropriate.
Hunt initially denied it all, and then later changed his tune to claim that it was all consensual.
OK, all that was background from over 2 years ago.
Between then and now he went into “restoration”. After that token box was ticked, he went right back on the preaching circuit last year earring lots of $$$ for speaking at various conventions and churches about morality (yea, really).
So what happened next?
Hunt’s Defamation Lawsuit against SBC
Hunt felt that the SBC revealing all this via the independent investigation merited a defamation lawsuit, so he started one.
Let me play that back for you. The guy who ran the SBC, was now suing the SBC for defamation because they revealed his sexual abuse. His argument against them doing this is that it was a “private matter” that should have been covered up swept under the carpet and ignored.
Let’s make something very clear here – defamation generally consists of making claims that are untrue, but Hunt now admits that what is describes is actually true and that it did happen.
He also claims that this 2022 revelation ruined his life … except that’s not true in any measurable way. He continues to tour the preaching circuit earring a rather healthy speaking fee income. They now know what he did and they simply don’t care (yea, that attitude kind of reminds me of MAGA and Trump).
So anyway, this lawsuit has been plodding along now for roughly a year. And as part of that process he gave a deposition last April.
On July 3rd, 2024, the lawyers representing Guidepost Solutions filed a motion seeking a summary judgement. They are seeking to have the case against them dismissed. This motion is based on Hunt’s own statements and “now-admitted lies.”. To establish that they have included his deposition and that’s how it suddenly went public.
Quote via a Roys Report article on this …
Hunt initially told Guidepost investigators that he had “no contact whatsoever” with a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her. They added that Hunt also told investigators the woman “had never come on to him.”
However, when deposed for the lawsuit, Hunt changed his story and claimed the woman “actually stalked and seduced him,” the attorneys wrote. They added that Hunt “admitted having kissed her on her breast, pulled down her shorts, and fondled her.”
Reminder: He started this case, this deposition is his, it is all his own doing.
Hunt’s Deposition
What he said within that deposition is truly jaw-dropping stuff.
Link: Here it all is.
What follows is me cherry-picking a few bits from a very very long document.
He is a Busy Guy still earning lots of $$$:
A guy earring lots of $$$ working the speaking circuit is not exactly the picture of a ruined life …
Q. How many days would you estimate in 2023 that you were booked or on the road for speaking engagements?
A. 2023? Probably Sundays of the year and then the three conferences.
How does he define “Adultery”
Just prior to the below he quibbled about the meaning of the word “adultery”. In essence he is striving to claim that he did not commit adultery and that it was only a “moral failing”. Yea, like you I recall the comment from Jesus on that, but let’s skip that for now and get into the transcript at this point …
Q. (By Ms. Nokes) How do you define “adultery”?
A. Adultery is a man that is married and he has sexual intercourse with someone other than his wife.
Q. So Bill Clinton did not commit adultery?
A. I don’t know his story.
Seriously! … how did he manage to miss all that?
Q. If it did not result in sexual intercourse, which we will define as a man’s penis being inserted into a women’s vagina –
A. Uh-huh, right.
…
Q. So you could be unfaithful by going to a woman — not your wife’s — room and kiss her and that is not adultery?
A. That’s not adultery.
… it is around here that those talking to him go, “wait hold on a moment here, this is what you yourself state you did” …
Q. (By Ms. Nokes) Well, you keep saying “false allegations,” but you did, in fact, kiss another man’s wife, correct?
A. I have never kissed her lips in my life. My lips have never touched her lips, so help me God.
Q. Now I’m confused.
A. Okay, good.
Q. Because your complaint very clearly says that the encounter with Jane Doe involved kissing and awkwardly foundling.
They then probe on that point a bit more to try to work out what he is claiming …
Q. I want to be crystal clear that in her condo on July 10th, 2010, you did not kiss Jane Doe?
Q. And you did not awkwardly fondle her?
A. I did awkwardly fondle her because she was coming on to me.
So basically in his books, he did not kiss her because he did not kiss her lips … and apparently kissing her naked breasts does not count …
Q. So just to be clear, the sexual encounter was full breast exposure with kissing and fondling her breasts while they were exposed?
A. Correct. Correct.
They also try to work out why he thought any of this was consensual …
A. I fondled and kissed her breast.
Q. And so that was not through her shirt?
A. That was –
Q. That was your mouth on her skin?
A. — on hers, yes.
Q. How long did that go on?
A. Just a couple of minutes.
Q. So when you say you’ve never kissed her mouth, you have kissed other parts of her body?
A. Yes.
Q. And after the breast fondling and the kissing, what was the next thing that happened?
A. Okay. And let’s be real careful to say in this very consensual relationship. This is not a tense lady. This is a very welcoming lady.
Q. What was she doing to indicate that she was consenting to this sexual encounter?
A. Enjoying it.
Q. How did she indicate that?
A. By no resistance whatsoever. No frowns whatsoever.
Q. Was there any talk back and forth?
A. I don’t remember a conversation. She’s a very quiet person.
Q. Did you find her attractive?
A. She’s an attractive lady, of course.
Q. And going back to her shorts, did you pull them down?
A. I did. I pulled them down.
He is asked why a far younger girl would be interested in a old guy like him. He comes back with a rather snide response…
Q. Think she’s about your daughter’s age, right?
A. Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Q. And what do you think would cause a woman that much younger than you to have this attraction to you?
A. I wish you could tell me that since you are a lady.
It is a long detailed and very explicit deposition. The above is perhaps enough for you see just how weird his “thinking” actually is.
He thinks he did not kiss her because his lips did not touch her lips, and the fact that his lips went elsewhere does not count. He thinks she consented because she did not fight back.
In reality many victims choose to not fight back because they then have a better chance of survival.
Hunt’s Credibility
Hunt has changed his story, the women he assaulted has not.
Initially he claimed that he had no contact with her at all. Now he is claiming that the “encounter” did happen, but it was all her, she seduced him. He does now admit that he did indeed kiss her breasts and pull down her shorts, but it was all because, he claims, she wanted it.
I do not find his claim that she seduced a guy that is old enough to be her father to be credible. Additionally, a guy who keeps changing his story has also totally blown his credibility.
Bottom line – I believe her 100%, I do not believe him at all.
The Guidepost investigators who looked into all this for their report back in 2022 also take that same stance. As I previously mentioned, they advise …
“…report was corroborated in part by a counseling minister and three other credible witnesses; and our investigators did not find Dr. Hunt’s statements related to the sexual assault allegation to be credible.”
It’s a Private Matter
When Hunt launched his defamation lawsuit against SBC, he demanded $100 million of damages.
The essence of his lawsuit is the claim is that it was a private matter, a moral failing, and not an actual crime.
Wait, hold on, let me hit pause on that.
“Private matter” … as in none of our fucking business … says the guy who has made an entire career out of sticking his nose into the “private matters” of others.
Really?
Yes indeed. This is the same guy who signed the Nashville Statement. That’s a 2017 statement by evangelical leaders that rejects both same-sex marriage and any extramarital sexual activity as sinful.
That “statement” truly is epic bullshit. All of that is a “private matter” between consenting adults and absolutely none of their fucking business (I’m not swearing there, that’s a literal statement).
Meanwhile, as a stark contrast, Mr Hunt’s “private matter” was not consensual, but instead was sexual assault.
Putting into the public domain the revelation that the guy going around the SBC circuit of churches preaching on morality, even now, in exchange for a speaking fee is in reality a credibly accused sexual abuser is stuff that should be covered up. Those turning up to listen to him have a right to know.
I do also feel compelled to add once again, the observation, “not a drag queen”, but a pastor, but with an additional note that this is not just any pastor but the president of the entire Southern Baptist Convention.
But it was only once
He has also claimed that it was only this once and that he has never faced any other sexual misconduct allegations … except that’s not actually true at all.
Are you surprised, because I’m not.
Via the Roys Report article we also learn …
Johnny Hunt Ministries (JHM) is being sued by Zachary James McAlexander, a former member of First Baptist Church of Woodstock, where Hunt used to pastor. McAlexander alleges that when McAlexander and his wife met Hunt in the church hallway, Hunt “directed all his attention” on McAlexander’s wife in an encounter in an “inappropriate” way.
Meanwhile SBC membership is rapidly shrinking, and I have honestly no idea why that is happening …
