Fired Hillsong Pastors Carl & Laura Lentz to Give First Interviews in ‘Secrets of Hillsong’ FX Docuseries
For the first time since their “explosive” removal from the Hillsong Church, former pastors Carl and Laura Lentz will give their first interviews about their ousting as part of FX‘s The Secrets of Hillsong documentary series.
FX’s four-episode documentary was announced by the network on Tuesday, March 28. About one year ago on March 23, 2022, Hillsong founding pastor Brian Houston resigned after internal investigations found he engaged in inappropriate conduct with two women. This documentary is based on the Vanity Fair exposé of the celebrity-loved megachurch written by journalists Alex French and Dan Adler that detailed Lentz’s adultery scandal. He and his wife were fired by Houston in 2020 for “leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures.”
The Secrets of Hillsong will premiere with the first two episodes on Friday, May 19 on FX, with next-day streaming on Hulu. The last two episodes will air the following Friday, May 26.
The church often hosted the likes of celebrities like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Kendall Jenner, Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger, and more. Lentz was the head of the New York Hillsong, but the church has locations all over the globe. Bieber temporarily lived with Lentz in 2014. Pratt has previously been criticized for his connection to the church because of its reported history of discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community. The docuseries will seemingly focus on the Lentz scandal and how it ties into the church’s “long pattern of covering up misconduct to protect itself.”
“The Secrets of Hillsong is a four-part documentary series based on the explosive original reporting on the megachurch’s scandals by Vanity Fair journalists Alex French and Dan Adler,” FX describes. “Directed by Stacey Lee, The Secrets of Hillsong features the first interviews with former pastors Carl and Laura Lentz since their public ouster from the church, which for years counted musicians, actors, athletes and other celebrities among its flock.”
“The Secrets of Hillsong also features poignant conversations with many of the congregants navigating the still-unfolding global reckoning as the church faces a rash of fresh revelations,” the synopsis continues. “Interviews include former congregants as well as others connected to the Hillsong story: Tiff Perez, Ashley Jones and Mary Jones, Josh Canfield, Janice Lagata, Geoff Bullock, David Shoebridge, David Cowdrey, Tanya Levin and many others. With fresh reporting and analysis from journalists, historians and policymakers, The Secrets of Hillsong goes beyond the sensational headlines and behind the velvet rope to examine the church’s long pattern of covering up misconduct to protect itself.”
Courtesy of FX
The docuseries is a product of Queer Eye producer Scout Productions and Vanity Fair Studios.
“With the depth and clarity of this project owed to the excellent reporting of Vanity Fair, and the perspectives of those speaking out for the very first time, we have been committed to telling a well-rounded and definitive story of Hillsong,” said Executive Producer and Head of Documentary, Scout Productions, Joel Chiodi, in a statement. “Because of these voices, along with unprecedented access to Carl and Laura Lentz, The Secrets of Hillsong offers new insights into how decades of scandal and corruption went unchecked within the church, and more importantly, what it meant for the community left in their rubble.”
“Uncovering stories that contend with power and the people who hold it is core to Vanity Fair’s mission,” said Agnes Chu, president of Condé Nast Entertainment. “Thanks to stellar reporting by Alex French and Dan Adler, and the courage of those who stepped forward to share their experiences, we know that power — and its systemic abuse over people seeking faith and community — is central to the Hillsong collapse. I’m grateful to our partners at Scout Productions, and to FX for helping us bring this eye-opening story to light.”
Executive producers include David Collins, Joel Chiodi, Michael Williams, Rob Eric, Agnes Chu, Dan Adler, Sarah Amos, and Alex French.
Discovery+ released its own Hillsong documentary, Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed, in 2022.
The Secrets of Hillsong, Docuseries Premiere, Friday, May 19, FX, Next-Day Streaming, Hulu
