Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Two weeks after Liberty University sued him and banned employees from talking to him, former Liberty president Jerry Falwell Jr. unexpectedly showed up at a student event Thursday night, hopped on stage and invited the students to a graduation party at his home that he billed as \u201cthe real Liberty graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to invite all the seniors to my farm on May 8. We\u2019re going to have the real Liberty graduation,\u201d Falwell told the students, standing on a small stage erected outside an off-campus student house, according to a video reviewed by POLITICO. \u201cIf you\u2019re not a senior but you date one, you can come, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The appearance seemed an act of defiance from Falwell at a time when the university has taken an increasingly tough stance against him. His 13-year tenure as Liberty president, during which time the evangelical school grew to more than 100,000 students in person and online, ended after a series of scandals involving his and his wife Becki\u2019s personal behavior. They included Becki\u2019s affair with a former pool attendant in which Falwell allegedly participated; he has denied any participation. In addition, a former student said Becki initiated a sex act with him. Falwell also posted a picture of himself with his pants unzipped and arm around a woman at a yacht party.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, roughly 200 students had gathered outdoors for a stand-up comedy night, and Falwell was not expected to make an appearance, according to a student present.<\/p>\n
But Falwell showed up partway through the event with Becki at his side, the student said. He soon hopped up on stage, lamenting that his student daughter \u2014 who he said was in the audience \u2014 had told him, \u201cPlease don\u2019t come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re still my president!\u201d one student yelled when Falwell took the stage, according to a video reviewed by POLITICO. Others laughed and cheered Falwell\u2019s name. Then Falwell invited students to a party at his farm, a multibuilding property near Liberty.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d love to have you out there. Becki says there\u2019s no way we can plan it that fast, but we can and we will,\u201d Falwell said, encouraging students to spread the word on social media.<\/p>\n
Before taking off, Falwell added a self-deprecating note, telling the audience, \u201cAnyway, I\u2019m a little fatter than I used to be.\u201d He and his wife left soon after.<\/p>\n
Just two weeks ago, Liberty sued Falwell, alleging he had withheld from the university damaging information about an alleged extortion attempt by the former pool attendant, Giancarlo Granda, who claims his affair with Becki, which Jerry sometimes watched, began when he was 20. It also banned faculty and staff from communicating with Falwell, saying his presence at Liberty could interfere with an ongoing investigation into his tenure as president.<\/p>\n
Falwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Critics of Falwell called Falwell\u2019s appearance at the student event inappropriate, and cited the affair with Granda and the allegations of a former Liberty student, who says Becki Falwell surprised him by performing an oral sex act on him at the Falwells\u2019 farm when he was in a band with the Falwells\u2019 son, Trey.<\/p>\n
That alleged encounter \u201coccurred at the same house that they\u2019re inviting students to for a graduation party,\u201d said Calum Best, a Liberty alumni and co-founder of the pro-Liberty reform group Save71 . \u201cNobody in the administration has the backbone to stand up and say this is wrong, so Falwell still does crazy stunts like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liberty University is investigating Falwell\u2019s presidency but the investigation appears to focus only on possible financial mismanagement at the university, not personal conduct.<\/p>\n
And Falwell, who has spent much of his career at the university founded by his father, Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., has resisted any attempts by Liberty to distance the university from him. After being pushed to resign as president, he has repeatedly posted social media photos of himself on campus. And in an interview earlier this spring, Falwell said that Liberty\u2019s staff and board have been \u201cnothing but supportive\u201d in the wake of his departure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students all want to get their picture with me. They thank me,\u201d Falwell said<\/a>.<\/p>\n