'Racy picture' of Liberty's Jerry Falwell Jr. sparks curiosity and controversy
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Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Got feedback or ideas for this column? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.
(ANALYSIS) “Wut is happening,” Houston Chronicle religion writer Robert Downen quipped on Twitter this week.
Downen’s colloquial query about an, um, unexpected snapshot of Jerry Falwell Jr. quickly went viral.
Falwell is, of course, the president of Liberty University and a prominent evangelical ally of President Donald Trump.
As noted by Julie Roys, an independent Christian journalist, the “racy picture” of Falwell and a woman was seemingly taken at a party on his yacht. Falwell posted the image to his Instagram page and then quickly deleted it.
“In the picture,” Roys explained, “Falwell and a woman, described as a friend, appear with their shirts hiked up and pants unzipped with the caption: ‘Lots of good friends visited us on the yacht. I promise that’s just black water in my glass.’”
Roys added: “A video of the party also showed up on the internet, featuring Falwell and others at what appears to be a Trailer Park Boys themed party. The scenes are surprising, given that Falwell is the president of the largest Christian university in the country. One guest in the video makes a vulgar gesture toward the camera. Some are wearing tight clothes with bellies exposed. Many have cigarettes dangling from their mouths.“
At first, some questioned whether the man in the picture was actually Falwell. But it soon became clear that it was indeed him.
Later, Falwell apologized for posting the photo, Politico reported. But the same news article said he “also defended the incident as a vacation ‘costume party’ that was ‘just in good fun.’”
“I’ve apologized to everybody,” Falwell said in an interview with radio station WLNI 105.9 FM in Lynchburg, Va. “And I’ve promised my kids I’m going to try to be — I’m gonna try to be a good boy from here on out.”
For his part, Downen — best known for his award-winning investigative project on sex abuse in Southern Baptist churches — said he was surprised by the heavy response to his tweet.
“Given the myriad scandals that he’s faced,” Downen said of Falwell, “I honestly didn’t think this would turn into such a big deal. It keeps getting described by media orgs as ‘bizarre,’ and that’s exactly how I felt, hence my ‘wut is happening’ comment.”
Friday afternoon update: Liberty announced today that Falwell is taking an indefinite leave of absence from his roles as president and chancellor.
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. He prays for Chicago as violence takes children’s lives: Kurtis Lee, a national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, writes about a “53-year-old self-described street pastor” who “has found a calling in consoling the families of victims of gun violence.”
Lee paints a simple-but-powerful portrait of Donovan Price, who offers this prayer near the end of the heart-wrenching story: “Please, dear Lord, please heal the sick in this city, please heal the weary. Dear Lord, we ask for peace in the streets.”
Amen.
2. Southern Baptists confront stain of racism, slaveholding past, but for some it's not enough: Holly Meyer, religion writer for The Tennessean, delves into the racial history of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination — and the current questions facing the SBC.
For those paying attention, much of the recent history that Meyer recounts will sound familiar. But she does a remarkable job of weaving all those important developments into a single, cohesive piece.
3. How two California megachurches kept worshiping: Christianity Today’s Kate Shellnutt and Nicole Shanks highlight two pandemic-era churches: one taking a stand against government regulations and the other finding creative ways to comply.
For related coverage, check out Los Angeles Times writer Stephanie Lai’s front-page report on how churches inside California’s “Bible Belt” are getting around the state’s coronavirus lockdown orders.
Also, Religion News Service’s Alejandra Molina interviews constitutional experts who question pastor John MacArthur’s belief that the Bible trumps COVID-19 public health orders.
More Top Reads
• Pastor continues call for Tulsa Race Massacre reparations; says historic church symbolizes a way forward (Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman)
• Promise Keepers stages a comeback on screens instead of in a stadium (Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service)
• Religious freedom in America: popular and polarizing (Elana Schor and Hannah Fingerhut, The Associated Press)
• Member of controversial church sues online critics who claimed he helped spread COVID-19 (Michael Gordon, Charlotte Observer)
• How Trump is moving heaven and earth to motivate evangelical voters (Linda Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor)
• As a plague sweeps the land, zealots see a gift from heaven (Leah Sottile, High Country News)
• Could these evangelical Democrats change the party? (Rikha Sharma Rani, Politico)
• Jewish cemetery association expands role as graves outlast communities (Peter Smith, Pittsburg Post-Gazette)
• White Fragility: a conversation on race and racism (Ed Stetzer, Christianity Today)
• How families are finding God, grace, and faith outside a house of worship (Christina Caron, New York Times)
• Sacrifice — of sons, lambs, money — takes on new meaning on COVID-clouded Muslim holiday (Robert Downen, Houston Chronicle)
Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines
Peter Smith of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Jaweed Kaleem of the Los Angeles Times are veteran journalists whose bylines are synonymous with exceptional reporting and storytelling.
It’s no surprise, then, that the two took first and second places, respectively, in the American Academy of Religion’s annual newswriting contest.
Congrats, too, to third-place recipient Kalpana Jain of The Conversation.
Charging Station: In Case You Missed It
Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.
• A generation’s big global issue: can centrists win Islam’s ideological civil war? (Richard Ostling)
• A pastor’s year on the frontlines in Hong Kong (Shuk Wa Cheng)
• Post-Trump, how will US evangelicals deal with internal riffs and external hostility (Richard Ostling)
• Cornel West and Robert George keep asking believers- left and right- to be tolerant (Terry Mattingly)
• The faith that made runner Jim Ryun forgive his Olympic rivals (Elias Makori)
• Reporter’s notebook: Kashmir is more silenced than ever (Riyaz Wani)
• Kashmiris worried about their future after one year under India’s lockdown (Zaffar Iqbal)
• Six years ago they came to destroy but faced no legal consequences (Ewelina U. Ochab)
• Idolatry or solidarity? Christian athletes questioning Black Lives Matter show Americans’ ideological divide (Timothy Nerozzi)
• ‘Flannery’ documentary looks at Southern writer’s works on grace and race (Jillian Chesney)
• After Rep. John Lewis, we are still in search of that ‘Beloved Community’ (Hamil R. Harris)
• Greek Orthodox church destroyed on 9/11 restarts construction (Jillian Chesney)
The Final Plug
As you might have noticed, we introduced a fact-checking element to Weekend Plug-in last week.
The basic idea is to check claims, facts and statements made by public officials and other prominent people concerning religion news and issues.
Tips are welcomed! Email me at therossnews@gmail.com, or tweet me at @bobbyross.
Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for Religion Unplugged and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.