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A lot of celebrities, musicians, and even athletes belong to Hillsong Church, which is described as a megachurch that originated in Australia. Notable members of the church include Justin Bieber , Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger , and Selena Gomez who was a member until recently.
News broke this week that Gomez’s relationship with Hillsong Church is over. The Daily Mail reported that the Rare Beauty founder cut ties with the megachurch after the cheating scandals of celebrity pastor of Hillsong, Carl Lentz surfaced.
“Selena considers herself a Christian,” the Daily Mail reported. “She says she has a close relationship with God, and she believes this is not how God wants us to operate, she’s disillusioned.”
When Gomez was dating Bieber, she would often attend the church with him and was a member ever since, according to People. Bieber was one of the first celebrities to attend Hillsong, giving the church and Lentz a lot of public recognition.
In 2017, Bieber left his summer tour due to feeling fatigue and decided to “rededicate his life to Christ” thanks to Lentz, according to The New York Times. Bieber even saw Lentz as a second father. Since then numerous celebrities, movie stars, and athletes all started attending Hillsong and admiring Lentz, who became a celebrity in his own right. Hillsong’s “music and upbeat preaching” was known to attract young churchgoers, according to The New York Times.
However, in early November, Brian Houston, the founder of Hillsong announced in an email to church members that he had fired Lentz from the church over alleged “leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures,” according to The New York Times.
The pastor then confirmed on Instagram that he had cheated on his wife Laura. More recently, Hillsong has been accused of exploitation and homophobia, according to a report from Business Insider.
In addition to Gomez cutting ties with the church, reportedly, Bieber’s wife Hailey Baldwin unfollowed Lentz on Instagram.