‘God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty’: 5 Things to Know About the Falwell Family Pool Scandal
The new Hulu documentary God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty premieres on Nov. 1 and does a deep dive into the scandal surrounding the Falwell family and a Miami pool boy. God Forbid includes interviews with the pool boy himself, Giancarlo Granda, and it goes into the details surrounding the scandal. Here are a few key points to know about the situation before watching the documentary.
A quick summary of the Falwell family pool boy scandal
For those who don’t know, Jerry Falwell Jr. is essentially evangelical royalty. His father, Jerry Falwell Sr., founded Liberty University, a private evangelical university in Lynchburg, Virginia. When Falwell Sr. died in 2007, Falwell Jr. took over as president of the college. The Falwells are known for their conservative political and religious views, and both Falwell Jr. and his wife, Becki, were very vocal in their support of Donald Trump.
In 2012, the Falwells vacationed in Miami and stayed at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach luxury hotel. During their stay, they met Granda, with whom Becki eventually had a years-long affair. While Falwell Jr. admitted he knew about the “brief affair,” he denied Granda’s claims that he watched while Granda and Becki had sex.
The incident with Granda, along with some inappropriate photos posted by Falwell Jr, caused Liberty University to ask him to tender his resignation immediately. He officially resigned in 2021.
The Falwells claimed Giancarlo Granda approached Becki first
Granda and the Falwells have conflicting statements on what started the affair between the younger man and Becki. The Falwells say that Granda first approached them to talk about a business venture. They also claim that before the conversation finished, Granda slipped his number to Becki without Falwell Jr.’s knowledge.
Granda claims the opposite. He states that Becki came up to him and the hotel and struck up a conversation. She asked Granda to come back to her room, which he considered, but she made it clear she and Falwell Jr. had an agreement that it could only happen if he watched.
Jerry and Becki Falwell denied Granda’s claims at first
While the Falwells admitted to Becki’s affair with Granda, they both denied his claim that Falwell Jr. watched the two during their intimate moments. However, Granda stuck by his statement.
In a 2020 interview with Politico, Granda stated in an email, “I met Jerry and Becki Falwell as a 20-year-old working my way through college at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. Becki and I developed an intimate relationship that went on from 2012 and through 2019 in which Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room.”
Giancarlo Granda became close with the entire Falwell family
During the years of his affair with Becki, Granda became close with Falwell Jr. and Becki’s children. They began to take him on vacations with them and entered into a business deal with him as well. Becki and Granda continued their illicit escapades right under her children’s noses.
Donald Trump’s ties to the Falwell family pool boy scandal
One of the most surprising pieces of this scandalous puzzle is that former president Donald Trump has ties to the scandal, too. When a business deal involving Falwell Jr., Granda, and two other men went south, the two men threatened to blackmail Falwell Jr. with racy photos of Becki. Falwell Jr. called in notorious Trump fixer, Michael Cohen, to help him make the photos disappear.
To watch the full side of Granda’s story unfold, tune into Hulu on Nov. 1, to watch God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty.
