'Cash grab': MAGA Bible-thumpers face accusations of 'exploiting' Christians

Amanda Marcotte with Salon is lifting the lid on a scandal of somewhat Biblical proportions involving the evangelical MAGA acolytes behind the hugely successful podcast "Girls Gone Bible."

Nicole Ardrete, a former friend of L.A. actresses and self-professed "Jesus freaks" Angela Halili and Arielle Reitsma, told Marcotte they all once worked together as underground "poker girls" who dressed sexy and were expected to flirt with high-end male customers in Los Angeles.

According to Marcotte, Halili and Reitsma put all that behind them to build a cult following for their hyper-feminine focus on purity, modesty, "submission" in marriage, and support of President Donald Trump's agenda. According to Marcotte, the Girls Gone Bible YouTube channel has more than 730,000 subscribers and nearly a million followers on Instagram, while their podcast "sits at the top of Spotify's podcast charts in the Religion & Spirituality category."

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After Trump re-won the presidency in November, the duo was invited to give the invocation at Trump's victory rally in Madison Square Garden, where they modified "The Lord’s Prayer," saying “Your will be done… in the life of President Trump as it is in Heaven.”

But all is not as heavenly as the women's "authenticity branding" would have followers believe, according to Marcotte.

"A video appeared on the internet earlier this year showing Halili on all fours wearing a minidress, while several other scantily-clad women dance around her, giggling," Marcotte wrote. "That video circulated rapidly on TikTok and other social media, leading to rumors and allegations that Halili and Reitsma had behaved abusively to fans who had trusted in them as 'ministers.'"

Aldrete claims she came forward to talk with Salon, "not to shame their past," but because of "the hypocrisy of it all." Marcotte wrote that once Halili and Reitsma "started talking about modesty and not living with your partner before marriage or having sex with your partner before marriage," Aldrete began to see them as dishonest.

"It was just a 'cash grab,' Aldrete said. "They were just doing it to exploit the Christian faith and the people."

Neither Halil nor Reitsma responded to Salon's request for comment.

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Read the Salon article here.