Former Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. said Thursday he is suing the school after resigning in August amid a series of scandals, NBC reported.
Falwell filed the suit in Lynchburg, Virginia, claiming the evangelical school damaged his reputation, according to the report. Falwell was president of the school his father founded for 13 years.
“We attempted to meet several times with the Liberty University Board of Trustees Executive Committee but were unsuccessful in doing so,” Falwell’s lawyer Robert Raskopf said in a statement, per NBC.
“Thus, we were forced to seek remedy for Mr. Falwell’s ongoing injuries and damage to his reputation through the Court,” Raskoph said.
Former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. announces that he’s filing a lawsuit against the evangelical school founded by his father. https://t.co/RMAXwfQtG7
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 29, 2020
Giancarlo Granda, a former pool attendant, told Reuters that he had an affair with Falwell’s wife Becki and that Falwell would watch them have sex, the report added. Granda said the affair lasted from 2012-2018. (RELATED: Becki Falwell Confirms Affair, Denies That Husband Jerry Was Involved)
Falwell’s lawyers said in a statement, per the report, that Falwell is the target of individuals who appear “to be supported by political opponents of Mr. Falwell.”
Falwell took a leave of absence in August after he posted a picture on Instagram, the report added. The photo shows Falwell standing next to a woman where his pants appear to be partially unzipped. He said on talk radio WLNI in Virginia that he was standing next to a pregnant woman and his pants did not fit properly, NBC reported. He apologized for the photo.
“I had on a pair of jeans I hadn’t worn in a long time, so I couldn’t get mine zipped either,” he said. “I just put my belly out like hers.”
“I apologized to everybody,” Falwell said.
Liberty University was founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr.