Jerry Falwell Jr. resigns as head of Liberty University in the report
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned from school amid reports of sexual relations with his wife’s business partner.
USA TODAY
Liberty University will pay former president Jerry Falwell Jr. to settle the lawsuit after resignation in 2020 after a famous sexual scandal that attracted the public’s attention to private Christian facilities..
The settlement was announced in 2024, but neither Falwell nor Liberty shared details about what it includes – or there was no amount Falwell would be paid.
However, the university, deeply buried in the recently filed 2023-2024 tax form, revealed that it is paying millions of numbers to “settle certain claims and close certain transactions.” As part of the contract, Falwell agreed to pay the university $440,000, and settled “contested costs” between him and the university. Details regarding these claims are not included.
According to tax documents, Falwell will receive approximately $5.5 million to resolve the lawsuit in total.
Liberty University declined to comment. University spokesman Ryan Helfenbein instead directed reporters in a 2024 news release about the agreement, which stated that a statement beyond the settlement was “not necessary or constructive.” “Both the University Board of Trustees and Jerry Falwell Jr. genuinely regret the long and painful litigation process, and each takes responsibility for being involved in the conflict,” the release at the time said. “Falwell acknowledges and apologises for the mistakes made in the era of leadership. The board acknowledges and apologises for the mistakes and mistakes made on their part.”
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Falwell also declined to comment on the details of the agreement, but said he was “very pleased with the outcome of the settlement negotiations and the final settlement.”
This settlement could mark the end of the embarrassing chapter of Liberty, one of the nation’s largest Christian universities. The school is proud to promote basic Bible values. For example, students prohibit sex or drinking alcohol outside of marriage (though that rule does not apply to online students on campus), following its honor code, Liberty Way.
Falwell took over from the university in 2007 after the death of the university’s father and founder, Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr. And he was one of the first evangelical leaders to support President Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election.
However, in August 2020, Falwell made the headline when he posted a photo of himself holding his arm around his wife’s assistant. He had a drink in his hand and both of their pants were unbuttoned. He quickly left.
He resigned a few weeks later, following news of a sexual scandal involving him, his wife, Becky Falwell and another man. Giancarlo Granda. He said Falwell was a participant in a multi-year relationship. Falwell describes it as his wife is cheating. Falwell told the Wall Street Journal about his departure at the time when he wanted what was best for the university.
Shortly after he left, Liberty began investigating his behavior at university. However, Falwell later sued the university for a loss of honor, but dropped it a few months later. Liberty then sued Falwell in 2021, claiming he had breached the contract. Falwell then filed two separate claims in 2023 – one for the retirement package and the other to the university for the use of the father’s image. As part of the ongoing conflict, Falwell and his wife were ultimately prohibited from entering campus.
However, by July 2024, Falwell and the University announced they would withdraw their claims. He was allowed back to campus and participated in the university’s return game. And Jerry Falwell Jr. no longer works in college, but his brother Jonathan Falwell is prime minister and head of the enormous Thomas Lord Baptist Church, also founded by senior Falwell.
In the meantime, the federal government under the Biden administration punished the university $16 million in 2024 for creating a culture on campus that students feared reporting sexual violence. The penalty included a $14 million fine, which required the university to spend $2 million “to improve safety and enhance compliance on campus.” The government also placed freedom on federal surveillance until April 2026. The university told the Justice Department recently that it felt it had unfairly targeted the Biden administration.
Contribution: Steve Berkowitz
Chris Quintana is an investigative reporter for USA Today. He can be contacted via signal cquintana@usatoday.com or 202-308-9021. He is on X on @cquintanadc.
