This archive report was first published on 8 August 2020.
On August 7, 2020, Jerry Falwell Jr., a prominent evangelical supporter of President Trump, agreed to take an indefinite leave of absence from his role as president and chancellor of Liberty University.
The decision was made by the executive committee of the university's Board of Trustees, who requested the leave on behalf of the entire board, according to a news release from the university.
The move comes after Falwell posted, and then deleted, a photograph on Instagram with his pants unzipped and his arm around a woman, sparking outrage among students and faculty.
Responding to the controversy, Falwell stated in an interview with WLNI, a local Lynchburg radio station, "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."
Liberty University, founded by Falwell's father as a bastion of social conservatism, has grown significantly under the Falwell family's leadership, with cash investments and endowments of nearly $2 billion and a campus that sprawls across Lynchburg and neighboring counties in Virginia.
