Rueters dropped the explosive allegations that Jerry Falwell Jr. and Becki Falwell, his wife, were involved sexually with a young man, Giancarlo Granda.
The specifics of the allegation include sexual relationships with Becki Falwell while Jerry Falwall Jr. watched. This happened allegedly over the years of 2012 to 2018.
Jerry Falwall Jr confirmed in the Washington Examiner that his wife did have the affair with Granda. He denies involvement in the affair, though.
The story continues and Rueters claims to verified seeing screen shots from a video conversation in 2019 with Becki Falwell naked and Jerry Falwell Jr looking in from behind a door as Becki Falwell talks with Granda.
This is a huge scandal as it embroils the scandal-prone president of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr. The media crows at his downfall in part because of his public support of President Trump. He is public face of an “evangelical” university. So, it fits into the “evangelicals are hypocrites” trope as well.
Personally, I would not classify Falwell Jr in the “evangelical” category. He is more akin to the Fundamentalist camp.
I happen to be an chaplain who is endorsed for ministry through the National Association of Evangelicals (although, I speak for myself, not them). That is my take on the Falwells and Liberty University.
In general, these sort of stories frustrate me as a genuine follower of Christ as we are all lumped into the same category as the Falwells by the media when they use the label “evangelical.” When I was at Yale Divinity School, I was regularly trying to correct this conflation between fundamentalists and evangelicals. We are not the same group.
That aside…
Work does need to continue within the evangelical camp to become a safe place for faithful spouses. This blog exists in part, because I believe evangelicals need to learn to take adultery more seriously. Hopefully, this experience will be a lesson for evangelicals on this matter.
What do I think about this salacious story?
The high moral standards held by Liberty University makes this especially scandalous. However, hypocrisy is not a new phenomenon within religious communities. It is as old as the Bible.
From the additional information in the article, I do not classify Jerry Falwell Jr as a mere victim in this. It seems he did participate if what is reported is true. That is different than discovering your wife is cheating on you. This has a “threesome” feel to it. It is a different form of sexual perversion and sin than simple adultery. That’s my take on it.
I hope Liberty University uses this to distance themselves from this couple. That would be a positive sign that they take these sexual allegations seriously.
