In a gay press
exclusive, Mike Jones, a male escort from Denver, tells
The Advocate he revealed his “sexual
business relationship” with evangelical leader Ted
Haggard to expose the hypocrisy in Haggard’s
support for a proposed constitutional amendment to ban
same-sex marriage. But he says he doesn’t wish the
prominent pastor, who resigned on November 2, any
ill will.
Mike Jones, a
male escort from Denver, says he revealed his “sexual
business relationship” with evangelical leader Ted
Haggard (pictured) to expose the hypocrisy in
Haggard’s support for a proposed constitutional
amendment to ban same-sex marriage. But he says he
doesn’t wish the prominent pastor any ill will.
Haggard, a
married father of five and a close personal advisor to
President Bush, resigned his post as president of the
30-million member National Association of Evangelicals
on November 2 and has taken a leave from his job as
pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado
Springs, Colo. He has since admitted to some
“indiscretions,” including going to
Jones for a massage and later purchasing crystal meth from
him, but has denied a sexual relationship. Haggard put
himself on leave from his church “to allow a
panel of four senior pastors, ‘wise ones,’ and
spiritual men to oversee the circumstances,” his
attorney, Martin Nussbaum, told The Advocate.
Jones alleges
Haggard has been paying for sex with him and doing drugs
for the last three years. He spoke with The
Advocate about his contact with Haggard, the first time
he learned of Haggard’s real identity, and why
he came forward.
Why now, just days before the midterm election?
I really agonized over it for quite a while and
finally decided I needed to say something. People have
accused me of trying to get money out of [Haggard]. I
will tell you that if I wanted to get money out of him, I
could have blackmailed him. I chose not to do that, but to
do this on principle, for the gay community. We have
two initiatives coming up on [the
Colorado] ballot, one to amend the constitution [to ban
same-sex marriage] and one for domestic-partnership rights.
People have accused me of being a puppet, but I have
had no contact with any political organization
whatsoever on this. I just did it myself.
Did the scandal surrounding former congressman Mark
Foley influence your decision?
No.
When did you first meet Ted Haggard?
Roughly three years ago. I never asked him how
he found my number, but I guess it was from a Web site
or a newspaper somewhere, because I was advertising at
the time as a male escort. When I answered the phone, he
indicated he was visiting from Kansas City and that his name
was Art. For the first year, he called from a blocked
number, then mostly from pay phones from the Colorado
Springs area.
When did you first realize who he was?
In the spring of 2006. I was lying on the couch,
relaxing, watching the History Channel—a show
on the DaVinci Code and the antichrist. All of a
sudden, his face came up. They were interviewing him. It was
Art. I didn’t get his name, so in my mind I was
thinking, I’m going to order a copy of this
show, just so I can see who this guy is. To me it was a
coincidence. The very next morning at 5 a.m., I was at the
gym working out on the treadmill. Somebody the night
before had turned the TV to the religious channel and
there he was. When I got home and looked him up on the
computer, I was like, “Ted Haggard…oh,
crap…this guy’s huge.”
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