The pastor of a New York church has opened up about her past as a successful porn star and said that today, she uses her experiences to bring others who are lost in darkness closer to God.
Central New York pastor Crystal Bassette was once a rising star in the adult film industry, appearing in more than 100 films in over a decade. At the time, she was making a whopping $300,000 a year and seemingly had it all - a mansion in Malibu, a Ferrari, a cook, a maid and a gardener. However, she was deeply unhappy. Bassette recalled the horror she felt after filming her first X-rated scene at the age of 21.
"I remember after the scene, I sat in the shower for about two hours crying," she told The Sun. "I ended up going back to it again and that's when I was numbing myself through taking pain medicine and drinking alcohol to get through the scene."
Bassette began working in the adult film industry in an effort to provide a better life for her son after becoming pregnant at the age of 16. However, she soon became numb to the work - and starring in adult films became "like a regular 9 to 5 job," where she would drop her son off at school, do pornographic shoots, then come home. Eventually, she opened at Oswego nightclub with her name on it: Crystal.
"My mind was so messed up and after reading the Bible I know that I was haunted by a spirit of Jezebel," she admitted. "I just lived for myself and my son and didn't really think about the consequences of making films and dancing and everything."
Her glamorous life soon came to a screeching halt when, in 2014, she was forced to close her club due to financial and legal troubles. She broke her nose in a car accident, and was arrested for drunk driving.
Bassette hit rock bottom - but God had other plans for her. She began attending Oswego River of Life church, where she embraced Christianity. There, she met David, a Pentecostal minister who is now her husband.
Today, Bassette is a mother-of-three who, along with her husband, leads New Beginnings Christian Life Church. She uses her testimony to help others understand that God can use even the most broken vessels for His glory.
"I never saw myself going this extreme, but God leads you in these directions," Bassette said. "I regretted it, but then I think to myself, If I didn't do those things, where would I be today?"
She added, "This is what my heart is for. And it's something I feel can help a lot and change people's lives."
According to watchdog Covenant Eyes, the porn industry generates $13 billion each year in the US, and by 2017, a quarter of a billion people are expected to be accessing mobile adult content from their phones or tablets, an increase of more than 30% from 2013.
In April, Utah became the first state to pass a bill officially declaring pornography a "public health hazard," as it normalizes violence and abuse against women and children, and is "linked to lessening desire in young men to marry" as well as marital dissatisfaction and infidelity.
The resolution, S.C.R. 9, was signed by Governor Gary Herbert, and says that says porn "perpetuates a sexually toxic environment" and contributes to the "hypersexualization of teens, and even prepubescent children, in our society."
