Anti-LGBTQ evangelist Jerry Falwell Jr. has taken an “indefinite leave of absence from his roles as President and Chancellor of Liberty University” according to a statement from the school's Board of Trustees.
The announcement followed days of controversy over photos and videos the Evangelical Trump supporting zealot published and deleted quickly from his social media accounts which showed Falwell Jr. partying on a luxury yacht with men and women in various states of undress. Falwell Jr's behavior has prompted calls from some GOP members of Congress for him to resign.
CNN reports: “In a separate statement, Jerry Prevo, chairman of the university's board of trustees, said the Lynchburg, Virginia-based university has ‘experienced unprecedented success' during Falwell's 13 years as president.'Unfortunately, with this success and the burdens of leading a large and growing organization comes substantial pressure,' Prevo said in the statement. ‘Today, my colleagues and I on the Liberty University Board of Trustees and Jerry mutually agreed that it would be good for him to take an indefinite leave of absence.'”
Falwell explained one of the photos (seen above) in an interview with WLNI radio in Lynchburg, Virginia earlier this week: “You know, it was weird, because she's pregnant so she couldn't get her pants zipped. I was like, trying to like — I had on a pair of jeans I haven't worn in a long time, so I couldn't get mine zipped either, so I just put my belly out like hers,” Falwell added. “And it was just, she's my wife's assistant, and she's a sweetheart, and I should never have put it up, or embarrassed her. Anyway, I've apologized to everybody, and I've promised my kids, I'm going to try to be a good boy from here on out.”
