GOP Rep. Mark Walker Calls On Jerry Falwell Jr. To Resign As Liberty University President After Unzipped Photo Scandal

Rep. Mark Walker (R-North Carolina), a minister with ties to Liberty University, called on Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. to resign on Thursday.

Walker’s condemnation comes after a photo went viral that showed Falwell on a yacht with his arm around a woman and his pants unzipped. The young woman’s shorts are also unzipped.

Falwell shared the photo and deleted it almost immediately after, but not before Houston Chronicle reporter Robert Downen screenshotted it and tweeted it on his own account Sunday night. 

On Thursday afternoon, Walker, a Liberty University Faculty Advisory Board Member, tweeted, “Jerry Falwell Jr’s ongoing behavior is appalling… I’m convinced Falwell should step down … None of us are perfect, but students, faculty, alumni and @LUPraise deserve better.”

Jerry Falwell Jr’s ongoing behavior is appalling.

As a Music Faculty Advisory Board Member and former instructor @LibertyU, I’m convinced Falwell should step down.

None of us are perfect, but students, faculty, alumni and @LUPraise deserve better.

— Rep. Mark Walker (@RepMarkWalker) August 6, 2020

Falwell apologized to “everyone” for the photo Wednesday in an interview on the Morningline show on WLNI 105.9FM, a local radio station in Lynchburg, Va., which is where Liberty University is located, claiming that it was “just in good fun.”

He also added that it was part of a “costume party.” 

“I’m gonna try to be a good boy from here on out,” Falwell said.

Still, the incident is far from the first questionable situation, that Falwell has been involved in recently which contradict the evangelical University’s values and strict student code of conduct.  

Falwell has been president of the evangelical university since 2007. He took over the position for his late father, Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr.