Justin Bieber's Ex-pastor Carl Lentz Breaks Silence on Cheating Scandal: 'I Had Some Major Lies'
April 28 2023, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Justin Bieber's ex-pastor Carl Lentz broke his silence on his affair and the other scandals that rocked his former celebrity-endorsed church, Hillsong, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Lentz will reveal all in a new documentary about his scandal-ridden congregation.
After Lentz rose to fame as the leader of New York City's division of the church, much in part to his close friendship with Bieber, he was fired from his role after his five-month affair with Brooklyn jewelry designer Ranin Karim came to light in November 2020.
In 2010, Lentz co-founded Hillsong NYC, which brought the Australian-based megachurch to the United States. For ten years Lentz enjoyed the success of his rapidly growing congregation from his $1.5 million New Jersey home. That all came crashing down when news broke that he was cheating on his wife, Laura.
With Laura at his side, Lentz spoke for the first time about his affair that rocked the megachurch.
In a clip from the upcoming FX and Vanity Fair documentary series, The Secrets of Hillsong, Lentz told director Stacey Lee, "You do not want to be in this chair. I cannot stress it enough."
Speaking directly to his affair, Lentz confessed, "I had some major lies," to which Laura added, "He said I had been unfaithful."
After his affair was made public, Karim gave several interviews in which she spoke about her "deep, sexual" connection to the celebrity pastor.
Karim claimed that when she questioned Lentz about his marriage at the start of their affair, the pastor told her, "I’ve never done this before, there’s nothing wrong with my relationship … but you have everything I want in a woman."
Laura Lentz
The documentary series was the first interview that the Lentz gave since the pastor's ousting from the church.
After he took a break from social media, the charming pastor returned to Instagram with a statement on the scandal in September 2022.
Lentz confirmed that his family was "at peace," despite the "challenging road" the couple traveled over the previous two years.
"It's been a challenging road but we are alive, we are at peace, and thanks to the grace of God, we are TOGETHER," Lentz captioned a family photo post on Instagram.
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The scandalous docu-series not only examines the rise and fall of Lentz and his sex scandal but other allegations of abuse and cover-ups at the church.
In 2021 the founder of Hillsong Church, Brian Houston, was charged for allegedly concealing child sex offenses.
Brian was accused of covering up allegations against his father and former Hillsong leader, Frank Houston. Brian denied the accusation and pled not guilty to his charges.
The Secrets of Hillsong is scheduled to debut on FX next month.
