Liberty University Pays Jerry Falwell Jr. $15 Million In Settlement After His ‘Pool Boy’ Scandal

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Baila Eve ZismanJune 9, 2025, 11:21 pmNews >

Former president of Liberty University Jerry Falwell Jr. is set to receive $15 million from the school to settle litigation in the wake of his 2020 resignation and the series of lawsuits that followed.

The private Christian institution was founded by Falwell Sr. in 1971 and is known for its strict, conservative rules for student conduct; Falwell took over as president in 2007 following his father’s death.

In August 2020, Falwell was placed on indefinite leave after he posted (and promptly deleted) a racy photo of himself and a woman with their pants unbuttoned. Not long after, allegations that Falwell and his wife had a years-long sexual relationship with another man were publicized; Liberty University announced Falwell’s resignation a few weeks later.

At the time, Falwell had made a lengthy statement claiming that the man had tried to blackmail his family, threatening to reveal the relationship to “deliberately embarrass my wife, family, and Liberty University unless we agreed to pay him.”

The man in question denied these allegations.

After Falwell left the university, Liberty launched an investigation into the alleged conduct, which resulted in Falwell suing for defamation. Falwell’s complaint was dropped, and in 2021, Liberty sued Falwell for breach of contract. In 2023, Falwell filed a lawsuit over his retirement package and another against the use of his father’s image. A settlement between Falwell and Liberty was announced in July 2024, with a spokesperson for the university sharing a statement that asserted, “Both the University’s Board of Trustees and Jerry Falwell Jr. sincerely regret the lengthy and painful litigation process.”

Neither party revealed details about what the settlement entailed at the time.

However, embedded in a recently filed 2023-2024 tax form, the university revealed the multi-million dollar figure they would be paying Falwell “to settle certain claims and close certain transactions.”

The form also revealed that as part of the agreement, Falwell would pay the university $440,000 to settle “disputed expenses” between the two. Per the tax documents, Falwell will receive about $5.5 million to settle the lawsuits, in addition to his retirement package of $9.7 million, which he already received.

Falwell refused to speak on the specifics of his deal with Liberty University, but acknowledged he was “very pleased with the outcome of the settlement negotiations and with the final settlement.”

Liberty University refused to comment.