Hillsong founder Brian Houston says he was hacked after post about ‘ladies kissing’ appears on his X account
An unexpected post that appeared on Brian Houston’s X/Twitter account has caused quite the buzz on the internet.
Hacking
Don't miss out on the headlines from Hacking. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Hillsong founder Brian Houston says his social media account has been hacked after a bizarre late night post about “ladies and girls kissing”.
The Twitter account linked to the former leader of the Christian megachurch made the post at 11.41pm on Tuesday.
Mr Houston’s account was updated 16 minutes later to say: “I think my twitter may have been hacked”.
The post about women kissing was deleted but screenshots were circulating widely on social media on Wednesday.
Mr Houston was contacted for comment about the posts.
The 70-year-old has been rebuilding his religious career after parting ways with Hillsong in March 2022 following an investigation into his behaviour.
A video meeting of Hillsong leaders was told that Mr Houston had knocked on the wrong hotel room door at the Pullman Hotel in 2019.
He was also investigated over a series of text messages sent to a female churchgoer.
Mr Houston has been setting up a new church with a “weekly online ministry in 2024”.
The modest services were a stark contrast to the heights he reached at Hillsong where he preached to stadiums of thousands of people.
Mr Houston had posted sparingly on Twitter, now known as X, in recent weeks.
His previous post included an apology.
“There are times I have let my hurt of this past season get the better of me and lost perspective, causing me to say things I should not have said and deeply regret. I’m sorry,” he wrote on January 29.
Mr Houston was last year found not guilty of concealing sex abuse committed by his late father, Frank.
Magistrate Gareth Christofi found that Mr Houston had spoken about the abuse publicly.
“That is the very opposite of a cover up,” he said in his judgement in August in Sydney’s Downing Centre local court.
Mr Houston was also in court in California last year over a drink driving offence, where he recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.230.
The reading – at least three times the United States legal limit – had been described as “blackout drunk”.
Mr Houston pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of California to the drink driving charges and was put on a three years’ probation and fined $140.
The Christian leader, who had preached a no sex before marriage doctrine, has previously spoken about his relationship with alcohol.
“The narrative that I’m an alcoholic is false. In fact, I’ve been told by an expert therapist that I do not display the behaviours that are typical of an alcoholic,” Mr Houston said.
More Coverage
Originally published as Hillsong founder Brian Houston says he was hacked after post about ‘ladies kissing’ appears on his X account
Major relief for Aussies with stolen data
Hundreds of thousands of Australians who had their data stolen can breathe a sigh of relief.
Aussies warned of new Centrelink scam
Australians have been warned about a cruel scam website that claims to promote a “cost-of-living bonus payment” from Centrelink.