How Jimmy Swaggart Went to Grave Aged 90 Haunted by Prostitution Scandal That Toppled Him From Top of Televangelism Tree
Jimmy Swaggart's death at the age of 90 has people buzzing about the prostitution scandal that brought him down.
July 3 2025, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart had it all: a massive following, a multimillion-dollar ministry, and a message that everyone one of his followers held on to, but his entire career fell apart due to his obsession with prostitutes, RadarOnline.com can reveal
On July 1, 2025, Swaggart died at the age of 90; however, the cause of death has not been revealed as of now.
'I Beg You To Forgive Me!'
Swaggart was one of the most popular televangelists on the small screen.
Swaggart, a Louisiana native, was one of many TV preachers who took over the small screen in the 80s and 90s, and he would soon become part of another category: televangelists brought down by scandal.
In 1988, Swaggart broke down in tears during a sermon, but at the time did not reveal what was causing him distress, only stating he had "sinned."
"I have sinned against you," he said to his huge audience. "I beg you to forgive me."
His popular career took a major hit after he was photographed with a prostitute.
Soon after, the TV star would announce his resignation from the Assemblies of God, after the church said it was defrocking him for rejecting punishment it had ordered for "moral failure." They had wanted Swaggart to undergo a two-year rehabilitation program and also not preach for a year.
Swaggart's good fortune crumbled after he was photographed at a hotel with Debra Murphree, an admitted prostitute who told reporters that while the two did not have sex, he had paid her to pose nude.
Murphee later repeated the claim and posed nude for Penthouse magazine.
Rivalry And Another Prostitute
Swaggart had been taken down by rival preacher Marvin Gorman after Swaggart accused him of sexual misdeeds.
Gorman had hired a photographer who was able to capture Swaggart and his prostitute. Swaggart would later pay Gorman $1.8million to settle a lawsuit over the sexual allegations against Gorman.
Swaggart's drama did not stop there, as two years later, in 1991, he was detained in California with yet another prostitute, Rosemary Garcia. He was charged with driving on the wrong side of the road and driving an unregistered Jaguar.
According to Garcia, Swaggart attempted to hide pornographic magazines under his seat when he discovered he was being pulled over.
Even More Controversy
Swaggart would become the butt of all jokes, even making it to sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, where he was poked fun at by the late Phil Hartman.
The once-famous televangelist remained at Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and stayed mostly out of the spotlight moving forward, but ruffled more feathers in 2004 after making controversial comments about gay people.
"And I'm going to be blunt and plain: If one ever looks at me like that, I'm going to kill him and tell God he died," he told his congregation, but would soon apologize after receiving backlash.
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Swaggart's son, Donnie, remembered his father as a 'warrior' following his death at the age of 90.
Swaggart made fewer and fewer public appearances over the next years.
Following his death, Swaggart's son Donnie, also a preacher, said in a video message: "My dad was a warrior. My dad was a preacher. He didn’t want to be anything else except a preacher of the gospel."
"That’s what he was put on this earth to do," he added.
