Jerry Falwell Jr., who resigned as president of Liberty University amid an affair controversy, denies claims he sent a lewd image of a young university student as a sexual act.
On Wednesday, Giancarlo Granda, who said he had a sexual relationship with the evangelical leader’s wife Becki while he was married, accused the former university president of being a sexual predator, citing one instance where he sent an image of an exposed young woman who attended Liberty University. Falwell Jr. said his decision to share the photograph wasn’t sexual.
“She had on, I don’t know how to say this, granny panties,” he told the Washington Post, saying the act wasn’t sexual.
Falwell Jr. said he didn’t recall sending the photograph to Granda, a former business partner of his, but said he shared the image because he thought it was humorous.
“The reality is Jerry Falwell is a predator,” Granda said in a statement published on social media. “I know this because he sent me an image of a female Liberty University student exposing herself at their farm. This is not appropriate conduct for someone who up until this week, has been charged with overseeing the well-being of thousands of vulnerable and impressionable students.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Liberty University to see if the photograph was a factor in Falwell Jr.’s decision to resign from his post.
— Giancarlo Granda (@GgrandaG) August 26, 2020
Falwell Jr. also confirmed that President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen provided legal services to him after an individual, whom he did not name, threatened to circulate inappropriate photographs to the public. Falwell Jr. only said that the individual stole photographs from his phone.
“They weren’t fully nude,” Falwell Jr. said of the images. “They were just pictures of my wife. I was proud of how she looked.”
On Monday, Reuters published a report about Granda claiming he had an affair lasting several years with the evangelical leader’s wife and that Falwell Jr. was involved. “Becki and I developed an intimate relationship, and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room,” Granda said.
Falwell Jr. acknowledged the affair ahead of the report’s release but denied being aware of it at the time it occurred. He added that the ordeal brought him severe depression.
“Becki had an inappropriate personal relationship with this person, something in which I was not involved — it was nonetheless very upsetting to learn about. After I learned this, I lost 80 pounds and people who saw me regularly thought that I was physically unwell, when in reality I was just balancing how to be most supportive of Becki, who I love, while also reflecting and praying about whether there were ways I could have been more supportive of her and given her proper attention,” he said in a Sunday statement to the Washington Examiner.
He said that Granda “began threatening to publicly reveal this secret relationship,” characterizing him as having “increasingly erratic behavior and unreasonable demands.” Granda denied claims that he attempted to threaten Falwell Jr.’s family.
“Any allegation of extortion is falsely, defamatory and belied by clear documentary evidence. The Falwell’s attempt to sandbag me, and the Examiner, with a last minute story without providing the Examiner clear evidence that this was not simply an ‘affair’ with concocted allegations of extortion reeks desperation. The WHOLE truth will come out,” Granda told the Washington Examiner.
Falwell Jr. also took an indefinite leave of absence from the religious school earlier in August after posting an image on social media many deemed inappropriate. The school’s board of trustees requested Falwell Jr. step down from his leadership roles, to which he agreed.
