CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – One day after resigning from her new appointment as District 3 School Board representative just hours after being sworn in, Teresa Crosslin has now withdrawn her resignation. She also confirmed to Clarksville Now that she appeared in a Showtime episode of Gigolos, and that revelation had prompted her resignation.
Thursday morning, Crosslin submitted a formal withdrawal of her resignation to both the Montgomery County Commission and the CMCSS School Board, saying she is ready to move forward with the job after she was “pressured” to resign.
“I realized I had been set up and pressured into that decision,” Crosslin told Clarksville Now. “I am withdrawing my resignation, and I’m ready to serve.
Resigned hours after being sworn in
Crosslin was to replace Herbert Nelson, who resigned in August. She was appointed on Nov. 10 by a vote of the County Commission, selected over three other applicants.
However, Crosslin was not present at Tuesday’s School Board meeting, which was to be her first. According to CMCSS, she was sworn in on Monday, Nov. 17, and resigned that evening but did not offer a reason at the time.
Previously, Crosslin said she was hit with “a hard realization” about how much was involved in accepting the position and that she wouldn’t be able to give the necessary commitment.
However, on Thursday, in an exclusive interview with Clarksville Now, Crosslin explained that her decision to resign was fueled by panic. “An anonymous call to the school district claimed that I appeared on an adult show over a decade ago,” Crosslin said. “I panicked and believed that if I resigned it might spare the School Board and my family some embarrassment.”
Crosslin addresses 2014 appearance on ‘Gigolos’
Gigolos is a reality TV series that follows the lives of male escorts living in Las Vegas. During the episode in question, an “account executive” named “Jenna” was in a sex scene with one of the escorts.
Following the announcement of Crosslin’s resignation, community members began identifying Jenna as Crosslin.
“That is true,” Crosslin said. “That is me. I never denied it. I just didn’t want to comment on it previously.” She said that the scene was only acting, and that she did not have sex with the actor.
Crosslin explained that she went on the show 13 years ago at a very low point in her life, but that she is able to use that low point as way to teach and help others.
“I recommitted my life to Jesus,” Crosslin said. “If I can use this to help somebody … and let them see that this is what evil caused for me by choosing to do just what my flesh wanted instead of the right thing, what God wanted me to do. And I know God didn’t pick that for me to do; that was only my flesh.”
Democratic Party weighs in on controversy
After news of her resignation came out on Wednesday and speculations of Crosslin’s guest appearance on Gigolos, she began to reassess her decision to resign.
“I’m not a politician, so I don’t really know how all this stuff works,” said Crosslin, who is a Republican. “But I am getting a clear idea now. I’ve lived in this community my whole life, and I stepped up to serve.”
“When that sensitive information came out, I didn’t want to be the center of the controversy,” Crosslin said. “So, out of fear, I resigned. But now I realize I had been set up and pressured into that decision.”
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That Wednesday morning, the Montgomery County Democratic Party issued a statement on the matter. “I am highly concerned with the judgment of the Montgomery County commissioners who voted along partisan lines to appoint an apparently unqualified candidate with a dubious background over a highly qualified candidate when filling an open seat,” Party Chair Christine McKinney said in the statement.
“We have been made aware of a graphic adult TV show appearance that is suspected to be Ms. Crosslin. Her resignation before attending a single School Board meeting is highly suspicious. While our party respects privacy and the rights of consenting adults to engage in adult behavior in private, this incident, if true, sets a bad example for our youth. We would not tolerate this if a teacher or CMCSS employee were to engage in such behavior. We must hold our School Board members to the same standard,” McKinney said. “I urge the county commissioners to make future decisions based on merit, not on the partisan political beliefs or connections of the candidates. We must always put our children first.”
Clarksville Now investigated the allegations but did not publish them, or the Democratic Party’s statement, at the time because the information could not be verified.
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“It’s clear that the anonymous call was politically motivated,” said Crosslin. “Local Democrats were pressuring me to get out of office so they could get their preferred candidate in. They waited until I swore in and then started posting everything on Facebook and different outlets.”
Crosslin seeks to keep School Board seat
On Thursday morning, Crosslin submitted a letter to the County Commission and the School Board formally withdrawing her resignation.
Crosslin emphasized the Democratic School Board members have shown her absolute kindness, saying, “I don’t believe they had any involvement in what took place, and I look forward to serving with them. … They have been absolutely precious to me.”
“We all have chapters,” Crosslin told Clarksville Now. “Mine’s on full display, and I own it. I do not hide from it, and I will not allow it to define me.”
| MORE: Teresa Crosslin: ‘I reacted out of fear’ in resigning from School Board | COMMENTARY
She said she wanted to apologize to the public for the back and forth involving her swearing-in, then resignation and now her withdrawal of the resignation.
When contacted about the withdrawn resignation, CMCSS deferred to Montgomery County, stating that the school system does not have any authority over the matter.
Montgomery County told Clarksville Now that the legal team is reviewing the resignation withdrawal to determine the appropriate next steps.
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