A California pastor traded her pulpit for a stripper pole and she said she couldn’t be happier. Nikole Mitchell, 36, once a conservative Christian pastor, left the church and become an erotic dancer on OnlyFans, according to the New York Post. She also came out as bisexual and pansexual.
A former wife and mother of three, Mitchell said growing up in a strict Baptist household made her feel she had to conform to prescribed gender roles. In her community, women weren’t allowed to become pastors, let alone exotic dancers.
“I grew up in the church and loved it and did my best to fit into the mold that was prescribed to me as a woman and I grew up in a Baptist community where women are not allowed to be pastors, so when I became an adult and felt called to become a pastor, that was a really big deal,” Mitchell said in an interview with Barstool Radio. “That was actually my first time I came out of the closet with telling people close to me that I wanted to be a pastor and that caused some waves.”
After pastoring for a while, Mitchell said she felt she still couldn’t be herself so she did began making drastic changes.
“I did that for a while and the more I did that the more I felt censored I felt in the church. I couldn’t say what I really wanted to say; I couldn’t be my full authentic self; I had to hide my queer identity; [and] definitely couldn’t bring up anything stripping wise,” Mitchell told Barstool. “So I reached a point where I thought, ‘Why stay and get paid to be someone that’s not my most authentic self?’ Why not find a way where I can be fully me and get paid doing something I love to do.”
Mitchell said she realized she was queer after attending an LGBTQ-themed performance in 2016.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t think I’m straight’ and it rocked my world,” Mitchell told the Post. “I knew if I revealed my queerness I would lose it all because the church is not welcoming to queer people.”
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After a while. Mitchell said she knew she had to stop living “a very duplicitous life” as a Bible pastor so she left the church for good in 2017 and became a stripper.
“And I took a deep breath of fresh air for the first time in a long time. I was FREE! Because I was ME,” Mitchell said in an Instagram post announcing her career change. “That’s when everything changed in my life for the better.”
Her Instagram page has a large following and on Twitter she identifies herself as a life coach who helps “people come home to who they really are and make money doing what they love.” She proudly calls herself a “Pastor-turned-Stripper” on both.
When asked whether she feels any guilt over being a criticized as a backsliding Bible pastor, Mitchell said for her stripping is just as holy and divine as being a pastor was.
“Every person has the right to express themselves in whatever way feels good to them and this is how it feels good to me,” Mitchell said. “My sexuality is incredibly healing and sacred and when I give this gift to people, it blesses them.”
