Jerry Falwell Jr.—the anti-LGBTQ+ evangelist once hailed as a rising star in conservative circles—is walking away with millions after years of controversy at Liberty University. Falwell Jr. served as president of the Virginia-based Christian college, founded by his father, Jerry Falwell Sr., in 1971. During his tenure starting in 2007, he grew the school’s influence—and its bank account—among conservative evangelicals.
But it all came crashing down in 2020, when a bizarre sex scandal involving Falwell, his wife, Becki, and a Miami pool boy became national news. Back then, Falwell shocked the internet by posting a photo with his arm around his wife’s assistant, his pants unzipped. And then came Giancarlo Granda’s revelation: an affair with Becki Falwell, allegedly with Jerry watching.
The Falwells denied Jerry’s involvement but admitted to the affair. Despite a public fall from grace and being banned from campus, USA Today reports Falwell Jr. will receive about $15 million, including a $9.7 million retirement payout and $5.5 million in legal settlement, even after returning $440,000 in disputed expenses. Meanwhile, Liberty continues to uphold its ban on same-sex relationships, calling them unbiblical. Yet the man who once preached those rules has admitted to breaking them—and more.
The school and Falwell now say they both “regret the lengthy and painful litigation,” and have agreed to move on. Falwell called the settlement outcome “very pleasing.” For many in the LGBTQ+ community, it’s another case of public hypocrisy, where anti-queer rhetoric masks personal contradictions.
