Actor and singer Joshua Bassett, known as the inspiration for Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Because I Like a Boy,” has spoken for the first time about his surprising journey of faith.
The High School Musical: The Musical: The Series The 23-year-old star, who has spoken openly about his struggles with depression, anxiety and addiction, found faith last year. Bassett was baptized at Bethel Church in Redding, California, in February 2023. He shared the news online, tweeting, “The gospel is GOOD NEWS for all who are willing to love and obey Him who makes your heart beat.”
His announcement was met with skepticism, as he had opened up about his anxiety and depression in the months prior after coming under scrutiny from Rodrigo and Carpenter’s fans for allegedly breaking the pop stars’ hearts. In a new conversation on “The Zach Sang Show,” Bassett said his mental health struggles, coupled with his addiction to psychedelics like mushrooms and ayahuasca, led him to one of his darkest moments. But that’s where he finally found God.
“I’ve spent my whole life searching for the truth and finding peace,” he said. “The only moment I really found peace was when I accepted Jesus.”
Bassett said that although his family went to church when he was younger, he never took his faith seriously.
“I thought my family was stupid,” Bassett said. “I thought every Christian was stupid. I thought they were so wrong. And then I had an encounter with the real living God.”
Since embracing his faith, Bassett has used his platform and his music to share the peace he has now found in Jesus.
“The fact that I’m standing here in front of you talking about Jesus and believing in Jesus is proof that there might be something to it, because I was so vehemently against it,” Bassett said during the interview. “I mean, I mocked God, The Couch.”
Bassett had previously spoken openly about his anxiety, depression and the trauma of sexual abuse as a child and teenager. These struggles intensified after a serious health crisis when he was hospitalized with septic shock. He told People that after his hospital stay he suffered from daily panic attacks and severe depression.
Bassett’s change of faith resulted in part from an ayahuasca experience that left him feeling “spiritually naked” and confronting the darkness within. He described a vision in which he descended into hell and was tormented by demons until he had a vision of Jesus in the sky that brought him a mixture of relief and terror.
In the six months following these visions, Bassett struggled with serious problems, found no peace, and his addiction worsened. It was only in a moment of meditation that he felt the Holy Spirit and realized his need for Jesus. He called his father, who had been praying for him, and his father led him through a prayer of repentance.
“I was on a path of destruction,” he said. “And it is only by the grace of God that I stand before you today.”
You can watch the full interview below:
