Lily Phillips.jpg — Holly Randall Unfiltered — CC BY 3.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Adult film star Lily Phillips has sparked debate within Christian communities following her recent baptism, which she documented in a video posted to social media. The 24-year-old, who gained notoriety in the adult entertainment industry, shared footage of herself being baptized while explaining her renewed interest in Christianity.

The Instagram video shows Phillips in a baptismal pool with a minister before being submerged in water, with the caption “a day to remember forever” and Kanye West’s song “God Is” playing in the background. Phillips did not identify the church where the ceremony took place.

In an interview, Phillips described the baptism as a spiritual reset after distancing herself from faith. “I think for a while I’d kind of deviated from religion, and I think I was kind of in denial for a lot of it,” she said. “I just wanted to get rebaptized to kind of reinstate my relationship with God.”

Phillips acknowledged that her approach to Christianity differs from traditional teachings, noting her support for abortion rights and gay marriage. “I’m definitely not claiming to be a traditional Christian at all,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean to say that I can’t be Christian. I would just hope that the Christian community welcomes me, because I guess everyone’s relationship with God is bespoke to them.”

The baptism has drawn mixed reactions from public figures and Christian commentators. Russell Brand, who was baptized in 2024, shared Phillips’ video on social media with the caption “Thank God.” Brand had previously interviewed Phillips and encouraged her to recognize her spiritual worth.

However, Christian commentator Jon Root criticized the baptism as lacking evidence of genuine repentance or spiritual transformation. “Currently, I don’t see the fruit of saving faith in Jesus Christ,” Root wrote, citing Phillips’ continued involvement in adult entertainment and her failure to explicitly mention Jesus Christ as the reason for her baptism.

The controversy has drawn comparisons to other former adult film stars who converted to Christianity and left the industry entirely. Brittni De La Mora walked away from pornography after her conversion and now runs XXXChurch, a ministry helping people leave the adult entertainment industry. More recently, Jenna Jameson announced her baptism and stated she was “switching sides” after decades of what she called sin.

Phillips said she plans to make religion “more of a priority” moving forward, though frequent travel has made consistent church attendance difficult. She noted that her religious family reacted positively to her baptism, even if they are not particularly active in church life.