Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Jerry Falwell Jr. Resigns as Head of Liberty University
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
August 24, 2020

Share

RICHMOND, Va. — Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned Monday from his leadership post at evangelical Liberty University amid allegations related to his wife’s sexual encounters with a much younger business partner, according to a school official.

A formal announcement from the school was expected later Monday, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it.

The resignation came a day after Falwell issued a statement to The Washington Examiner publicly disclosing that his wife had an affair and saying the man involved had been threatening to reveal the relationship “to deliberately embarrass my wife, family, and Liberty University unless we agreed to pay him substantial monies.”

Hours before Falwell resigned, Reuters reported that Falwell knew of his wife’s affair and participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur.

In Falwell’s statement Sunday, he said he was seeking mental health counseling after dealing with fallout from the extramarital affair. He said he was not involved in the relationship.

He Took Leave After Uproar Sparked by Photo He Posted on Social Media

Falwell’s statement also said the person with whom Becki Falwell had the affair had threatened to reveal the relationship unless “we agreed to pay him substantial monies.”

“Over the course of the last few months this person’s behavior has reached a level that we have decided the only way to stop this predatory behavior is to go public,” the statement said.

Falwell, an early and ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, had already been on an indefinite leave since early August as president and chancellor of the Lynchburg university founded by his late father, the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr.

He took the leave after an uproar sparked by a photo he posted on social media that showed him with his pants unzipped, stomach exposed and arm high around the waist of his wife’s pregnant assistant. Falwell has said the photo was taken at a costume party during a family vacation.

Critics of the photo said it was evidence of hypocritical behavior from the leader of a university where students must follow a strict code of conduct that includes modest dress and a ban on alcohol consumption and premarital sex.

DON'T MISS

Canadian National Anthem Booed, but Only Lightly, at 4 Nations Hockey Tournament

DON'T MISS

Former Vice President Kamala Harris to Be Honored by NAACP With Its Chairman’s Award

DON'T MISS

‘Life-Threatening Cold’ Expected as Polar Vortex Stretches Across US

DON'T MISS

Where to Chill on the Cheap in the Caribbean

DON'T MISS

Should Builders Permit Their Own Projects? Post-fire LA Considers a Radical Idea

DON'T MISS

I Was a Bad Father. How Do I Live With the Regret?

DON'T MISS

Royal Caribbean to Launch First-Ever San Diego Cruises in 2026

DON'T MISS

What Is Field Hockey? Fresno’s Sikh Community Explains

DON'T MISS

Sean Combs Sues NBC Over Documentary That He Says Defamed Him

DON'T MISS

European Detour Destinations Are 2025’s New Travel Trend

UP NEXT

Poll: Where US Adults Think the Government Is Spending Too Much

UP NEXT

USAID in Turmoil as Aid Programs Cut, Staff Stranded

UP NEXT

Pentagon’s New Media Rotation Program Boots NPR, NY Times, NBC News

UP NEXT

Apple Changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps

UP NEXT

Red, White, and Blueland? GOP Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename Greenland

UP NEXT

White House Bars AP Reporter From Oval Office Because of AP Style Policy on ‘Gulf of America’

UP NEXT

Russia Has Released Detained American Teacher Marc Fogel, the White House Says

UP NEXT

Canned Tuna Sold at Trader Joe’s, Costco, H-E-B Recalled for Botulism Risk

UP NEXT

Fact Check: No Evidence Chelsea Clinton Took $84 Million From USAID

UP NEXT

Private Jets Collide at Scottsdale Airport in Arizona, Killing at Least 1 Person, Authorities Say

Where to Chill on the Cheap in the Caribbean

5 hours ago

Should Builders Permit Their Own Projects? Post-fire LA Considers a Radical Idea

6 hours ago

I Was a Bad Father. How Do I Live With the Regret?

7 hours ago

Royal Caribbean to Launch First-Ever San Diego Cruises in 2026

1 day ago

What Is Field Hockey? Fresno’s Sikh Community Explains

1 day ago

Sean Combs Sues NBC Over Documentary That He Says Defamed Him

1 day ago

European Detour Destinations Are 2025’s New Travel Trend

1 day ago

California’s Aging Population Will Test Whether Its Demography Is Destiny

1 day ago

A Former Firefighter in the Legislature Has Ideas. Will Democrats Listen?

1 day ago

Mind-to-Text: How AI Is Learning to Decode Brain Signals Into Sentences

2 days ago

Canadian National Anthem Booed, but Only Lightly, at 4 Nations Hockey Tournament

BOSTON — The Canadian national anthem was booed, though somewhat tepidly, by the fans at the 4 Nations Face-Off on Monday — apparent payback...

2 hours ago

Team United States fans cheer after their team defeated Canada in a 4 Nations Face-Off hockey game in Montreal, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
2 hours ago

Canadian National Anthem Booed, but Only Lightly, at 4 Nations Hockey Tournament

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, boards Air Force Two at the Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. Harris might have traveled on Friday to Philadelphia or Milwaukee for the umpteenth time, but motivating tuned-out voters in battleground states required something different. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Former Vice President Kamala Harris to Be Honored by NAACP With Its Chairman’s Award

Downed trees cover the roadway toward South Jefferson Street from severe weather in downtown Tuscumbia, Ala., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025.(Dan Busey/The TimesDaily via AP)
2 hours ago

‘Life-Threatening Cold’ Expected as Polar Vortex Stretches Across US

5 hours ago

Where to Chill on the Cheap in the Caribbean

6 hours ago

Should Builders Permit Their Own Projects? Post-fire LA Considers a Radical Idea

7 hours ago

I Was a Bad Father. How Do I Live With the Regret?

1 day ago

Royal Caribbean to Launch First-Ever San Diego Cruises in 2026

1 day ago

What Is Field Hockey? Fresno’s Sikh Community Explains

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend