The Robertson family on Duck Dynasty has known its share of scandals—everything from Phil Robertson’s secret daughter to his controversial viewpoints that turned off so many fans. But one explosive Duck Dynasty scandal has been under wraps for far too long.
It involves the shocking fall from grace of a once prominent member of a rich Christian family. There’s also a crazy twist with none other than Donald Trump.
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This story is unbelievable because it involves Liberty University, a “private evangelical liberal arts institution.” That’s where the Duck Dynasty clan comes in, but first, let’s recall just what that wealthy guy and his wife were accused of doing.
The University of Chicago Divinity School reported on Jerry Falwell Jr.’s “fall from grace.” Jerry and his wife, Becki, allegedly took a pretty steep tumble after a shocking scandal came to light in the summer of 2020.
Jerry was once described as an “evangelical power player.” The Falwell family’s tremendous wealth and prestige were based on their Christian faith and reputation for “moral righteousness.” But the real truth was Becki had been involved in a scandalous affair with a younger man, and this highly inappropriate relationship lasted for seven years.
The Scandal Began Nearly 11 Years Ago
So, how do the Robertsons fit into this twisted scandal? It all goes back to September 2013, when Willie Robertson appeared at Liberty University’s convocation ceremony and gave a “message of encouragement” to thousands of students and their guests.
At the time, Jerry served as the chancellor of Liberty University, an institution with such a strict “morality code” that students received fines for drinking adult beverages or engaging in bedroom activities outside of marriage. Shockingly, what Jerry and Becki were accused of doing was so much worse.
People Magazine published a stunning report on the young man involved in this scandal. His name is Giancarlo Granda, and his downward spiral began in 2012 when he was a pool attendant at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami.
Jerry and Becki stayed at the hotel on vacation. Giancarlo admitted that he met Becki while she was lounging around the pool and he was serving drinks and meals.
The scandal was featured on a Hulu streaming documentary called “God Forbid: The Sex Scandal that Brought Down a Dynasty.” Even though they didn’t mean Duck Dynasty, the Robertsons eventually got embroiled in this twisted mess whether they knew it or not.
In the Hulu documentary, Giancarlo is the first to appear on screen. Shockingly, he stares into the camera and admits what he claims to be the real truth. Listen closely because this is where Donald is exposed as a critical figure in the scandal.
Giancarlo admitted accepting Becki’s invitation “to go back to her room.” Still, he also confessed that he “would’ve just walked away” if he knew the scandal would involve “the president of the largest Christian university in the world and the President of the United States.” For the record, Giancarlo meant Jerry and Donald.
The Accounts of the Scandal Are Contradictory
People reported Giancarlo’s claims that his physical affair was with Becki, but Jerry was always present in the bedroom. Giancarlo’s other cringeworthy allegation was that Jerry “filmed the encounters” and derived self-pleasure from it. However, People wrote that the Falwells “denied those claims” and continued to say, “Jerry had no involvement.”
The University of Chicago reported that Giancarlo “became increasingly enmeshed” in Jerry and Becki’s “private and public lives.” Inside sources can prove that Giancarlo spent “weekends with their family” and even traveled with Jerry and Becki on “Liberty University’s private jet.” Jerry and Becki also “introduced” Giancarlo to their extreme friends, including Donald, a “then-aspiring presidential candidate.”
When Willie spoke at the convocation, the Liberty University website published a glowing article about it. The Robertsons were friends with Jerry. He gave Willie an insane introduction, considering he was allegedly breaking the strict moral codes he’d always preached about.
Liberty University’s article referred to Jerry as “President Jerry Falwell, Jr.” Jerry called Willie “the star and driving force of the biggest reality television show in the history of cable television.” That’s quite the compliment, but Jerry wasn’t done.
Jerry said that besides Willie’s “business savvy,” he and the whole Robertson family were “known for their faith in Jesus Christ.” Jerry added that the Robertsons were more than just “top celebrities.” They were “some of our nation’s most famous Christians.”
Willie Didn’t Address His Friend’s Transgressions
Willie didn’t get up and talk about Phil’s extramarital affairs or his misuse of substances and adult beverages. He focused on how his dad became religious at the age of 28 “and decided to make duck calls” as a business.
Willie told the huge crowd at Liberty University, “Without my father making the decision” to become religious, “there would not be a show called Duck Dynasty.” Willie claimed, “When you are moving toward God, you are moving in the right direction.”
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Liberty University wrote that Willie “reminded students” about one thing at the end of his speech. He said that “Satan” will always try to prevent them “from spreading the Gospel.” It’s crazy that Willie was talking about the devil when his good friend Jerry was allegedly getting unholy with his wife and another man.
In August 2015, another press release appeared on Liberty University’s website. This time, “Liberty University President” Jerry was on hand to welcome “the cast and crew” of Duck Dynasty to the campus, where a “large portion” of the “final episode of Season 9” was filmed.
There’s also a photo accompanying this news item. Shockingly, Jerry is seen looking relaxed and friendly with Korie Robertson and Willie, who are dressed casually in typical Duck Dynasty fashion and look camera-ready for their scenes.
Jerry Was Allegedly Blackmailed
People reported on a shocking tell-all that Giancarlo wrote with the help of author Mark Ebner. The partial title of the book is OFF THE DEEP END, a play on words since Giancarlo met Becki by that pool in Miami. This book and the Hulu documentary revealed how the scandal grew even more twisted when Donald got involved.
Giancarlo alleged that “explicit photos” of him and Becki somehow got leaked to Donald’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who testified at Donald’s New York trial and is also a convicted felon. Allegedly, Michael then blackmailed Jerry into “endorsing Trump in 2016.” Inside sources claim that Jerry was highly influential in swaying Christian right-wing believers to vote for Donald.
The University of Chicago reported that Giancarlo was “ridiculed” when the scandal first went public several years ago. He got nicknamed “pool boy.” Sadly, Giancarlo began to wonder if it would be better to take his own life.
But at the same time, Jerry and Becki’s “carefully constructed image of moral wholesomeness continued to fracture.” Jerry allegedly began drinking too much at public events. The University of Chicago wrote that “suggestive photos” began to pop up on his social media accounts.
The same year as the scandal broke, these “damaging” incidents proved too shocking not to notice. Jerry’s reputation plunged so low that he was forced to step down from his presidency at Liberty University “under a cloud of scandal.”
The Existence of the Tapes Is Undisputed
People reported that Jerry and Becki appeared in the January 2022 issue of Vanity Fair. In this interview, Jerry accused Giancarlo of blackmailing them. Allegedly, Giancarlo said he “would tell people that Jerry participated in the affair.”
People also wrote that Giancarlo continues to deny Jerry’s accusations.
Shockingly, Becki told Vanity Fair that she willingly made “tapes with Granda.” She alleged that she had a “big Canon camera,” and “a couple of times,” she put the camera “on the dresser” in a bedroom, and “Giancarlo agreed to it.”
The only thing the Falwells and Giancarlo continue to agree on is that these “tapes” existed. However, Giancarlo alleged that Jerry and Becki kept at least “half a dozen tapes” in their possession as “an unspoken form of blackmail” to use against him and force him “to do whatever they wanted.”
People described what happened “in late August 2018” when Jerry and Becki invited Giancarlo and some family members “to stay at their farm.” This appears to be the last time that anything scandalous happened between them. Becki claimed to Vanity Fair that she and Jerry were taking the visit as “an opportunity to say goodbye.”
Giancarlo continued to allege that the Falwells were “blackmailing [him] the whole time.” He said that he“carried a gnawing fear” inside that this would be his “downfall.” Giancarlo added, “It almost was.”
