Carl Lentz.Photo: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
Hillsong Church’s high-profile challenges will soon play out on the small screen.
Discovery+ on Monday announced a three-part documentary exposé calledBreaking Hillsong, which will stream on the service as a limited series.
“The project will chronicle the headline-making world of global star-studded megachurch Hillsong and the downfall of its ultra-hip, celebrity senior pastor, Carl Lentz,” a press release announcing the project read.
The series will feature exclusive interviews with people like Ranin Karim, whoclaimed she had a five-month affairwith Lentz, and profiles of current and former members of the church “who have come forward en masse to share harrowing stories of the trauma, abuse, financial and labor exploitation, homophobia and racism that created a culture of chaos at Hillsong,” according to the release.
Earlier this month, Leona Kimes, who once worked for Hillsong as a nanny for Lentz and his family,accused Lentz of sexual and emotional abuse— behavior he denied.
RELATED VIDEO: PEOPLE Explains: Carl Lentz’s Hillsong Church Scandal
Hillsong, a one-time favorite among celebrities likeJustin Bieber, made headlines in early Novemberwhen, citing “moral failures,” it fired Lentz, who shortly after admitted to being unfaithful to his wife Laura.
Karim, who will be interviewed in the series, came forward weeks later to allege that she was his mistress before Laura discovered his infidelity in late October.
The church experienced another bump in the road in April, when Pastor Darnell Barrett, the creative director of Hillsong’s chapter in Montclair, New Jersey,quit amid a photo scandal, claims that he sent an anonymous woman similar photos and allegations that he was unfaithful in his marriage.
“I was not at all trying to lure her. I get that she, within the context of what’s happening with Hillsong, that she would draw those conclusions,” he told the Daily Mail, presumably referring to Lentz’s termination.
Barrett reportedly added, “This was something that was just an honest mistake and I informed my wife as soon as it happened.”
Ina note on their website, Hillsong founder Brian Houston and Bobbie, his wife and co-founder, addressed Kimes' essay, calling her experience “very disturbing” and commending her “for her courage.”
“[We] have assured her of our utmost compassion in their journey forward,” the Houstons wrote.
The Houstons also confirmed that they “initiated an independent and lengthy investigation into the culture of all four Hillsong East Coast locations” following Lentz’s firing last fall, and that “Leona’s experience will be central in our processes” as they rebuild.
source: people.com
