Liberty University President Jerry Falwell has been asked to take a leave of absence by the Board of Trustees after an embarrassing photo was posted online.
The head of the major Christian university, which was founded by his father in 1971, posted an image to social media of himself with a young lady, with both of them having their pants slightly unzipped. The image has since been removed, but a copy of the offending image can be seen below.
In an interview with radio station WLNI, he stated, “Yeah, it was weird. She’s pregnant. She couldn’t get her pants zipped and I was like trying to like… I had on a pair of jeans I haven’t worn in a long time and couldn’t get zipped either.
“So, I just put my belly out like hers. She’s my wife’s assistant she’s a sweetheart. I should have never put it up and embarrassed her. I’ve apologized to everybody. I promised my kids I will try to be a good boy from here on out.”
The Board of Trustees released a statement, in which they said: “The Executive Committee of Liberty University’s Board of Trustees, acting on behalf of the full Board, met today and requested that Jerry Falwell, Jr. take an indefinite leave of absence from his roles as President and Chancellor of Liberty University, to which he has agreed, effective immediately.”
Falwell was on vacation on a yacht when the incident happened. It is not the first time he has found himself in trouble. A member of Donald Trump’s spiritual advisers, the head of the university has had a checkered history.
Most recently was his apology for pain caused by a racist tweet. Prior to this, he was under fire for reportedly cutting his personal trainer in on a ‘sweet’ property deal. This also led to a Christian group launching an online petition to see criminal action taken against him.
Falwell has stood for, through other criticisms, however given the photographic evidence, the university’s board had no option other than to stand their high profile president down.
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