Reporting the Truth.
Restoring the Church.
By Daniel Silliman
Former Hillsong pastor Brian Houston claimed someone else accessed his X account after it reposted pornography featuring adult actress Angela Tiger. (TRR Graphic)
Although a video of adult actress Angela Tiger having sex was at least two decades old, more than 37,000 people watched it on X.
And 23 hit “repost,” sharing the French pornography with their own social media followers. One of them was using former Hillsong Church pastor Brian Houston’s phone.
It wasn’t him, Houston said.
The Hillsong founder, who left the Australia-based megachurch in 2022 after an internal investigation confirmed multiple instances of inappropriate conduct, claimed that his X account had been “compromised.”
Houston, 72, told his 543,000 followers on X on May 14 that “any odd posts, links or messages shared earlier were not legitimate.” He later clarified that his account was not hacked.
A repost from Brian Houston’s X account shared explicit content before later being deleted. (Screen grab)
“Someone temporarily had access to my twitter account on my phone,” he wrote.
Houston did not explain how someone could have had his phone, opened the social media app, found the video posted weeks before by“The Classic Pornostar Era 80/90/2000” and then shared it.
The repost went up at about 2 a.m. in California, where Houston is reportedly living. It was deleted several hours later.
Few people on X found Houston’s explanation plausible.
“You posted porn bro,” one of Houston’s followers commented. Another from South Africa urged the former pastor to “turn from the scourge of porn, and seek the face of Jesus, who alone saves sinners from their sin.”
Previous ‘unauthorized tweet’
This is the second time that Houston has claimed his social media account was hijacked. In February 2024, a late-night post on his X account said, “Ladies and girls kissing.”
Critics have speculated that Houston meant to search the social media platform for lesbian pornographic content but entered the search term into the wrong field and posted it.
Houston, however, claimed a few minutes after the post went up that his account was “hacked.” A week after, he said on X that multiple people had access to his account and “someone known to me” posted the “unauthorized tweet.”
A February 2024 post from Brian Houston’s X account reading “Ladies and girls kissing” was later deleted. (Screen grab)
Houston described it as a “deliberate attempt” to discredit and embarrass him. He did not offer any further explanation of the alleged betrayal.
X has long allowed adult content on its site. Owner Elon Musk formalized policies permitting “consensually produced and distributed adult nudity or sexual behavior” in 2024. Multiple politicians have been caught up in Twitter-porn scandals, including Democrats Anthony Weiner and Bobby Pulido, Republicans Ted Cruz and Jason Howell and Australian member of parliament Craig Kelly.
Houston appears to be the only prominent minister caught sharing sexual content. He is moderately active on the social media platform, typically posting religious statements four or five times per week.
Online ministry
“Discernment is a gift available to Spirit-filled believers,” one of his posts said in early May. “To exercise the gift of discernment can save you from many heartbreaks.” Two days later, Houston told his more than 543,000 followers that when“Jesus is your SOURCE. …. YOU CAN’T LOSE FOR WINNING!”
Houston also regularly responds to what media experts call “engagement bait,” posts designed to drive interaction.
Last week, for example, Houston replied to a post asking which Democratic politician should be saved from a fire: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or Hillary Clinton. The former pastor wrote “No one in those choices.”
The same day, an anonymous user posted a picture of Pope Leo making a funny face and asked, “Honest answer: Do you trust this person?” Houston replied, “No.”
Houston and his wife Bobbie currently run an online ministry, which is registered in Newport Beach, California, as a church. The couple also have a for-profit limited liability company in Oklahoma. Neither organization appears to have an independent board or other forms of oversight.
On Sunday, Houston preached about sin, telling viewers they should accept God’s forgiveness and stop judging others.
“It’s time to stop counting the wrongs and by so doing have a complete change of perspective. And it can be done. It can be done,” he said in the 26-minute message.“Somewhere along the way, we have to lose our way and ask God to give us the grace to stop counting.”
Daniel Silliman is senior reporter/editor at The Roys Report. He began his two decades in journalism covering crime in Atlanta and has since led major investigations into abuse and misconduct in Christian contexts. Daniel and his wife live in Johnson City, Tennessee.
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