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‘The Chosen’ Creator Dallas Jenkins Admits He’s ‘a Flawed Man,’ Details His Porn Addiction
He’s bringing the life of Jesus Christ to TV, but The Chosen creator Dallas Jenkins wants viewers to know he’s a sinner like anyone else. In a shocking interview, the 48-year-old Evangelical dad of four opened up about one of his darkest secrets. “I’m a flawed guy,” he told The Hollywood Reporter before admitting he’s struggled with an addiction to porn. The son of Jerry B. Jenkins, the author of the mega-selling Left Behind book series, Dallas grew up in the shadow of his famous father.
“It made him want to succeed on his own,” an insider exclusively tells In Touch, but Dallas had a difficult time making his way in the TV and movie business. His low point was in 2017, when his film The Resurrection of Gavin Stone flopped. Admitting he had a “relapse” in his porn addiction, the Illinois native said he put locks on his computer — to no avail. “And I went, ‘Alright,’ I was married at the time. I have kids, ‘This can’t happen again. And it’s not enough for me to just have all these protections on my computer,’” he said. “‘I need to change the heart of what causes this idolatry or this addiction.’”
Confronting what he calls his “narcissism,” Dallas said he tried to replace toxic habits with Scripture. Within weeks, he already had the idea for The Chosen, a character-driven retelling of the story of Christ, which has drawn in some 200 million viewers worldwide and earned $63 million in ticket sales as the first series to be screened in theaters. “Dallas has become even bigger than his dad,” notes the insider. “Now Jerry likes to be called Dallas Jenkins’ dad.”
