Rev. Marcus Lamb of DayStar TV Faces Unusual Lawsuit After Admitting Affair
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Here's a twist on marital infidelity you don't hear every day.
A woman who worked for Rev. Marcus Lamb's DayStar Television Network is suing the prominent televangelist, claiming that Lamb's recently admitted extramarital affair caused her "great emotional pain," because the out-of-wedlock tryst compromised the Christian values she expected in the workplace.
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Lamb appeared on national television Tuesday admitting to the affair and said that three people demanded $7.5 million from him to stay quiet about his infidelity.
On Wednesday, Jeanette Hawkins filed suit in Dallas County District Court. She says she was hired by Lamb and a female executive at tDayStar in 2005 to be the marketing director, guaranteeing that she would be working in a Christian setting, according to The Dallas Morning News.
However, according to Hawkins' fraud suit, the TV minister and the other woman were involved in a lingering affair that went against the network's values, states the Morning News. Hawkins said that functioning under such perversion is what caused her "great emotional pain," according to the suit.
Hawkins' suit also states that she eventually received copies of Lamb's e-mails that confirmed the affair including "many lewd statements," and which showed that the network's funds helped pay for "trysts in other locations," reports The Dallas Morning News. The suit goes on, stating, "Lamb wrote in one of his emails to [the woman] that he could not wait to make her the next Mrs. Marcus Lamb."
Lamb's supporters on the broadcast repeatedly described the affair and the extortion plot as an attempt by the devil to discredit the evangelist couple and their ministry, although Lamb has said that only he is to blame for his wrongdoing.
Hawkins' attorney, James Fisher, said Thursday that he met Nov. 18 with DayStar lawyers to try and reach a settlement, but he would not disclose the specific amount he asked for, reports The Dallas Morning News.
"I did not threaten to go to the news media with the story of the affair," he told the paper.
DayStar is rooted in Pentecostalism, the Christian tradition known for its spirit-filled worship, and its belief in modern-day miracles and everyday battles with evil influences. The network airs some of the highest-profile evangelists in the world, including Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar and Joyce Meyers.
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December 1, 2010 - Marcus Lamb: Televangelist Announces Extortion Over Affair