Dark truth behind the wholesome facade of Christian influencers: War erupts behind the scenes over ‘impure’ videos

When Anthony Gross shared a video of himself showing off his body following a workout, he didn’t expect the shirtless clip to spark a furor of negative comments.

The hate wasn’t directed at his looks. His followers were outraged that he was showing off his body while ‘claiming to be a man of God.’ 

Gross, 22, from New York City, is what’s known as a ‘Christian influencer.’ Scattered between his ‘day in the life’ videos and fitness content, he also often posts footage of himself attending mass and sharing his love for Jesus. 

He’s just one of many faith-based social media stars who have grown in popularity in recent years. In fact, there’s hordes of content creators who have earned hundreds of thousands of followers by posting about their religious views online.

More than just sharing their religious takes, many of them have also captured the world’s attention by flaunting their seemingly wholesome images and clean lifestyles. 

But the Daily Mail has now learned that, behind the scenes, the world of faith-based content creation is not exactly as pristine as it seems. 

Gross’ story is not an isolated event, and it’s just one of the harsh realities that come with being a Christian content creator, as he explained that there is an immense pressure to act a certain way that comes with the title.

‘The world and society always loves to put people into a box. It’s a part of human nature. But something that I try to do is stay true to myself,’ he told the Daily Mail.

‘I started as a fitness account, that’s a huge part of what I do,’ he continued. ‘I get pushback for that, people say, “You claim to be a man of God and you’re taking off your shirt.” But that is who I am. I’m trying to resist people putting me in a box because of [my faith].’

Gross has gained over 153,000 followers on Instagram. While much of his content is faith-based – including filming himself going to church or documenting what he eats during Lent – he also often shares videos of himself enjoying a Friday night out with friends, despite partying being shunned by many other Christian influencers.

‘People say, “It’s bad to go out to a bar with friends while you proclaim you go to mass.” I think that [mindset] is wrong,’ Gross said, adding that he’s not trying to ‘put on a facade’ about his lifestyle. ‘Having fun and socializing and having faith are not mutually exclusive.’

‘I think those are normal aspects of being a young person in a big city,’ he noted. ‘I don’t think that’s a bad thing.’

His decision to post both Christian content and videos of himself partying is certainly a controversial one since most faith-based content creators often flaunt their pure lifestyles online, which includes refraining from drugs and alcohol, waiting until marriage to have sex and dressing modestly. 

However, Emily Dinneny, 23, from Charlotte, North Carolina, explained that there are many subgroups of religious influencers, which she admitted, creates ‘cliques.’

‘In the Catholic world, I’d say there are groups of people more liberal leaning, and more conservative leaning. There’s those who make short-form content (Instagram, TikTok) and those who make long-form content (YouTube, podcasts).

‘There are those who try to be more moderate in their tone, and those who are more direct and aggressive. Some make their content more around the Catholic lifestyle (“come to Mass with me” or “here’s the Catholic decor in my house”) versus around Catholic beliefs faith (“here’s what the Church teaches on this”). 

‘I try to stay out of that and focus more on the friendships I’ve built in person than who I encounter online.’

The Catholic social media star has just under 100,000 followers on TikTok and often posts videos discussing the bible and sharing her views on various subjects like the afterlife, divorce and abortion.

She admitted that she drinks in ‘moderation,’ pointing out: ‘Jesus’ first public miracle was in multiplying wine for a wedding.’

Like Gross, she has received immense hate over the years. Particularly, she said there’s a lot of contention amongst her followers whenever she posts with her sister, who is not religious.

‘[My sister] made a post on her account about a religious point I made, and was flooded with comments from others about how they would “never talk to me again if I was their sister” and how she should cut me off from her life,’ she said.

But she’s used to it, saying she gets ‘a lot of hate,’ especially for her stance on ‘certain moral issues.’ 

‘It usually doesn’t bother me because I’ve learned over the years to never seriously entertain the negativity,’ she said.

‘I don’t really care what people say about my beliefs or my appearance (people criticize both), but it really hurts when people make it personal with my family.’

And Dinneny admitted that she’s unsure just how many of the more strict Christian influencers actually practice what they preach behind the scenes. 

‘I’m skeptical. Being a public figure, especially online, comes with a lot of temptations,’ she said. ‘Temptations to greed, envy, wrath, sloth, lust, immodesty and more. It comes with a lot of distractions, too.’

Dawn Darnell, 38, from Houston, Texas, who has over 96,000 followers on Instagram from documenting her life as a mom-of-four and sharing her Christian views, has also noticed the subgroups in the community.

‘There are [cliques]. I feel like that’s something you can’t get away from in life. You just have to find a group that you fit in with,’ she quipped.

‘I’m pretty good at keeping away from drama or fake people. As a mom-of-four you don’t have time to even entertain that type of energy from anyone.’  

She admitted that she too has struggled with the a ‘stereotype’ associated with faith-based social media stars. 

‘But I’ve never been the one to try to fit the mold,’ she added. ‘I’m at the point of my life where you either like me or you don’t. And that’s OK with me. I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.’

Darnell revealed that she’s actually ‘lost friends’ because of her content, recalling a recent time when she posted about Charlie Kirk’s murder. 

‘When I saw people share the horrific tragedy on social media and mock it … I shared my Christian thoughts on how bad social media has gotten and how the devil was using it to turn people against each other,’ she explained.

‘The hate I got in my DMs was outrageous. People I had been friends with unfriended me with no explanation aside that I was being too religious.’ 

‘But to me, if you are truly rooted in your faith you will understand that’s part of being a Christian,’ she added. 

‘It’s one of the hardest thing to accept knowing you will be persecuted for your beliefs … but you learn to be strong, and you learn to lean on your faith. I think for too long I was silent in my faith because I was scared to offend people, but I’ve realized … that I shouldn’t be silent in my love for Jesus because I’m afraid of what people will think.’ 

Darnell said she ‘prays’ for her haters. ‘At the end of the day, that hate only affects them and not me,’ she stated.

Gross said he is also unfazed by the backlash, and is adamant that he is not trying to force his views on anyone else. 

‘It’s impossible to put stuff out on the internet and not get hate. It becomes part of the game,’ he said. ‘You cannot please everyone.

‘I’m not out there trying to tell people how they should live or educate people on Catholicism. I just show my life … I’m not preaching to people.

‘I’m giving young people validation that it’s OK to have opinions and faith and not be afraid to show that.’