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Jerry Falwell Jr. reportedly resigns from Liberty University, following a series of high-profile scandals including an alleged sexual relationship with his business associate

Aug 25, 2020, 06:01 IST
Business Insider
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., attends commencement in Lynchburg, VirginiaReuters
  • Just hours after reports came out that Jerry Falwell Jr. agreed to resign as president of Liberty University, Falwell denied he was resigning.
  • A source told the Washington Post the deal for Falwell's resignation was all but finalized before a "holdup" paused negotiations.
  • The news comes after Falwell denied over the weekend having a three-way sexual relationship involving his business partner and wife.
  • The prominent Evangelical had been on an "indefinite" leave of absence following a slew of other personal scandals, including posting a photo of himself with his pants unzipped with his arm around a woman.
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Liberty University is finalizing plans for Jerry Falwell Jr. to resign as president of the college following a series of controversies, multiple news outlets have confirmed.

On Monday, reports surfaced that Falwell and his wife, Becki, were involved in a years-long sexual relationship with his former business partner, Giancarlo Granda. Falwell denied the charges, which were made by Granda, and claimed that his wife had an extra-marital affair.

Granda met the Falwells when he was just 20 and working as a pool attendant at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel. Now 29, Granda said the relationship became sexual in 2012 and continued on until 2018.

"Becki and I developed an intimate relationship and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room," Granda told Reuters.

It is the latest high-profile scandal connected to Falwell, who had been put on an "indefinite" leave of absence earlier this month. The move came after a photo of Falwell with his pants unzipped and his arm around a woman prompted several university alumni and former faculty members to call for his ouster, though it's unclear if the post was the cause of the university's decision. Falwell has said the since-deleted Instagram photo was taken during a family vacation.

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Falwell was also criticized earlier this year for tweets he made about blackface, and separately, for pushing to open the university amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He had been head of the private Evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Va. — which enforces a modest dress code and has a ban on alcohol consumption and premarital sex — since his father's death in 2007.

Earlier on Monday, several outlets reported that Falwell Jr. had officially resigned, but Falwell denied the reports. Sources told the Washington Post, however, there was a "holdup" during negotiations and the resignation had not been finalized.

Falwell was one of the first major Evangelical leaders to endorse President Donald Trump in 2016 and boosted his campaign with conservative support.

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