Jerry Falwell Jr., formerly the head of Liberty University, as well as a friend of President Donald Trump, has recently found himself shrouded in scandal following revelations of a longtime affair between him, his wife, and another man. On Thursday, in a new report from the Huffington Post, an emergency call from his wife, Becki, reveals that Falwell Jr. was found intoxicated and bleeding on August 30, potentially a reaction to news of his private life going public.
After getting a call from her husband saying that he was hurt, Becki made an emergency call to get him help, but refused to give the dispatcher much information. When medical responders arrived at their home, they reported he had multiple lacerations on his face, that he’d hit his head, and was slurring his speech. Blood was also found nearby empty alcohol bottles. According to the report, Falwell Jr. also refused to let his wife take him to the hospital, with concerns over things going public.
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This news comes less than a week after Falwell resigned as president of Liberty University, following the unfolding of a sex scandal only fit for the year 2020. In August, a report on an affair between him, his wife Becki, and one of their business partners quickly went viral, uncovering what the couple had tried to keep to themselves, even working with Michael Cohen to keep it under wraps.
It all began when Falwell Jr. and Becki took a trip to Miami in 2012, where they stayed at the Fontainebleau Hotel. During their trip, they met Giancarlo Granda, a pool attendant, who was 20 years old at the time. As Granda recalls, Becki asked him to come back to their room to have sex while Jerry watched, though Falwell disputed that, saying that it was only Becki who was involved.
Following their meeting, the three became close and the liaisons continued to take place “multiple times per year” in Miami, New York, and Virginia, according to Granda. Soon, the Falwells took to flying Granda places in their private jet, and even bought a $1.8 million Miami Beach hostel to set him up to co-own it with their son, Trey. But things went south when controversy around the property flared up. When Jesus Fernandez Jr. — Granda's high school friend — claimed that he and his father had helped the Falwells and Granda find the real estate investment, things began to sour. Fernandez and his family allege they were promised part ownership, and when they didn't get it, they sued.
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The lawsuit alluded to a "friendly relationship" between Granda and the Falwells, which first set off alarms, despite the fact that Granda claims he was in another relationship and wanted to distance himself from the budding scandal before it spilled out. But after a Buzzfeed article exposed the controversial business dealings between Granda and the Falwells, Granda demanded a payout from their shared property. When he didn't get it, he went public with their relationship.
In response to Granda’s public comments about his relationship to the couple, the Falwells have dismissed him for trying to extort them for money. Nonetheless, Jerry Falwell was forced to reckon with the consequences since the story came out. He was already on temporary leave from work after posting a controversial photo to Instagram.
After more impropriety surfaced, Liberty University practically had no choice but to cut ties — after all, there’s only so much scandal that an evangelical institution with a strict code of moral conduct can handle. "While we still didn't know the full scope of the matter, we have learned enough about the past to know that we had no choice but to take the leadership of Liberty University in a new direction," the university said in a public statement released following the bombshell report.
Since, the university has commenced an investigation of its operations under Falwell.