Jerry Falwell Jr. is Suing Liberty University for Ruining His Reputation

Jerry Falwell, Jr. is finishing the job the pool boy started — humiliating Jerry Falwell, Jr. — by suing Liberty University for allegedly damaging his reputation.

Let me put that another way: The guy who posted a bizarre picture of himself with his fly unzipped and belly out, and who “liked” photos of younger women in not-so-Christian poses, and who posted a racist tweet in response to the governor of Virginia mandating face masks in public spaces, and who called a parent “dummy” for asking why Liberty was reopening during the COVID crisis, and who censored the school’s own journalists, and who apparently fell down the stairs because he got hammered one night last month, is very angry that his former university made him look bad.

Falwell accuses Liberty — and, for some reason, the anti-Trump Lincoln Project — of defaming him:

In his Complaint filed in the Commonwealth of Virginia Circuit Court for the City of Lynchburg, Mr. Falwell claims that Liberty University needlessly injured and damaged his reputation through a series of statements, published in print and spoken in large public forums and streamed online, following his forced resignation from the University.

According to the Complaint, these statements had the effect of affirming false claims that an individual made publicly against Mr. Falwell after years-long attempts at extortion against Falwell and his wife Becki. Based on research and investigation, this individual appears to be supported financially by political opponents of Mr. Falwell in the midst of a heated presidential campaign, likely including the anti-Trump political action committee called The Lincoln Project.

The Complaint, which includes claims of Defamation and Breach of Contract, alleges that Liberty University officials accepted the false claims against Mr. Falwell without investigation to force his resignation, and then engaged in a campaign to “tarnish, minimize, and outright destroy the legacy of the Falwell family and Mr. Falwell’s reputation.”

Falwell added in a statement, “I must take the necessary steps to restore my reputation and hopefully help repair the damage to the Liberty University brand in the process.”

I don’t know how strong his legal case is, but there’s no way his reputation can be salvaged when Falwell himself is his biggest enemy. The reason everyone’s mocking him has everything to do with his own behavior, not some public statement from Liberty’s Board of Trustees. This is also happening despite reports that Falwell stands to receive more than $10 million from Liberty U. as part of his severance package.

The weird thing is that Falwell could likely regain a chunk of his reputation, at least in the Christian world, by just laying low for a little while before claiming he found Jesus again and doing some kind of rehabilitation tour. That’s a time-tested lie that always seems to work. Instead, he’s out for blood because his religion revolves around power and vengeance.

It’s a foolish decision. But it’s Jerry Falwell, Jr. What else would anyone expect?

I’ve said this before, but imagine how awful you have to be to be the “Most Embarrassing Falwell” when your father is the guy who blamed 9/11 on pagans, “abortionists,” feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU, and People for the American Way.