Christian candidate found following porn stars on Instagram

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, who has railed against Christian nationalism while making his status as “a Presbyterian seminarian” a key part of his campaign for U.S. Senate, was found to be following OnlyFans models, porn stars and prostitutes on Instagram.

Talarico, a 36-year-old Democrat who has represented the liberal Austin area in the state House of Representatives since 2018 and announced a Senate run in September, also exchanged a private message with an OnlyFans model to thank her for her support, according to a report first published last week by Axios.

Talarico, whose Instagram account has 1.7 million followers, included 10 accounts linked to prostitutes, adult film actresses or OnlyFans models among the 3,721 Instagram accounts he follows. Axios found Talarico’s account had “liked” images from Instagram user Allie Pentz, who reportedly has a profile on an escort website.

The campaign released a screenshot of Talarico thanking OnlyFans model Alice Greczyn for tagging him in one of her Instagram stories, according to the New York Post.

“Thank you, Alice!” Talarico wrote, to which she replied: “Thank YOU! Really appreciate your work. It heartens me to see there are politicians like you.”

JT Ennis, a spokesperson for the Talarico campaign, told Axios that Talarico has never subscribed to OnlyFans or an escort service, and suggested the lawmaker and his social media team were following users without judging them in accordance with his Christian faith.

“The social media team — including James — follows back and engages with supporters who have large followings and does not investigate their backgrounds,” Ennis said. “While James was unaware of how these women make money, he does not judge them for it and will not play into an effort to smear them for clickbait articles. “

“That’s exactly what his Christian faith calls him to do,” he added.

Talarico, who has claimed Jesus was a “radical feminist” and that there are six biological sexes, has previously made headlines for warning against the influence of “Christian nationalism” and attempting to offer theological justifications for liberal positions.

During an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in July, Talarico evoked the Virgin Mary and the Incarnation to defend abortion, noting that Mary consented to the angel Gabriel’s message.

“I mean, the angel comes down and asks Mary if this is something she wants to do, and she says, ‘If it is God’s will, let it be done, let it be, let it happen.’ So, to me, that is an affirmation in one of our most central stories that creation has to be done with consent,” he said.

“You cannot force someone to create. Creation is one of the most sacred acts that we engage in as human beings. But that has to be done with consent. It has to be done with freedom.”

In 2023, Talarico spearheaded a legislative effort opposing Senate Bill 1515, which would have placed the Ten Commandments in Texas public schools. Talarico denounced the bill as “idolatrous” during a heated exchange with a fellow legislator at the time.

Talarico was also one of two Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives that year who voted against a bill that would prohibit “sexually explicit materials” in schools and require parents to opt their child in for them to access any “sexually relevant material” in school.

The son of a Baptist minister, Talarico grew up in the liberal St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Austin, whose pastor, Jim Rigby, was put on trial by the PCUSA for ordaining LGBT clergy since the 1990s, according to Politico.

In a sermon he delivered at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in 2022, Talarico warned against “Christofascism,” which he defined as any form of Christianity “that worships power — social power, political power, economic power — in the name of Christ.”