Married pastor Darnell Barrett has stepped down as creative director of Hillsong Church's Montclair, New Jersey after sharing shirtless photos of him in gym tights to another woman.
- Apr 30, 2021
AceShowbiz - Another Hillsong pastor has been caught in sex-related scandal. Married pastor Darnell Barrett of Hillsong Church's Montclair, New Jersey stepped down from his role as creative director on Tuesday, April 27 after he was caught sharing his explicit photos to a woman who is not his wife.
Caught up by Daily Mail outside his home, Barrett admitted he had resigned from the church, citing "infidelity" he was "working through" with his wife. "We thought it was best for me to move on. I don't want to get into the details," he said.
Barrett, who previously appeared on Steve Harvey's talk show, however, was adamant that sending his explicit pics to the woman was "an honest mistake." He told the news outlet, "This was something that was just an honest mistake and I informed my wife as soon as it happened."
The father of two claimed he had no intention of meeting up with the woman. "I was not at all trying to lure her," he explained. "I get that she, within the context of what's happening with Hillsong, that she would draw those conclusions. But I barely know her. That was not my intention."
The photos in question show Barrett getting shirtless in a gym after a workout wearing Nike Pro Compression Tights that outlined his manhood. Over the pictures, he wrote, "depression and anxiety got the best of me in the last 30 hours."
The unnamed woman, who said she was a former volunteer at Hillsong, claimed the pastor had sent her similar photos before he shared those revealing images on his Instagram Stories. In his direct messages to the woman, Barrett wrote, "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. It's some real raw s**t I send to my friends man. Lol."
The woman replied, "Lol rude! I'm NOT a close friend is what you're saying. Haha that's alright." The pastor wrote back, "Seriously, sorry about that. I guess," before the volunteer blocked him.
The woman later unblocked Barrett and told him, "For you to go out of your way to make it seem like you 'accidentally' added me to your close friends... and then, went out of your way to message me about it KNOWING that would make me go look is bulls**t."
She continued alleging, "Obviously, what you wanted me to see were the shirtless photos and the outline of your d**k, let's not play and act like that wasn't the point. Your messages to bait me into seeing your 'raw s**t' are obvious.' "
She also accused him of employing a " 'fishing' scheme" to "see if I will bite." Barrett replied, "I'm sorry?" before she blocked him once more.
Hillsong Church has not spoken up on the photo scandal. Barrett is the latest pastor from the mega church who was caught in sex-related scandal. NYC pastor Carl Lentz was fired in November 2020 for "leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures" after he was caught cheating on his wife.
