Samantha Bee mucks around in the bizarre case of Jerry Falwell Jr., sexy photos, and the 'pool boy'

Samantha Bee answers the big question about Jerry Falwell Jr. and the &quot;poll boy&quot;

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Full Frontal)

published 15 August 2019

A lot of bizarre things happened in 2016, "but no event was more surprising than when Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University and a wildly influential evangelical, decided not support fellow Baptist Ted Cruz and instead endorsed Donald Trump," Samantha Bee said on Wednesday's special end-of-summer Full Frontal: Hot Summer Nights! "It was weird that Falwell endorsed Trump, since Cruz was a much better fit for evangelical values. Then, just a couple of months ago, a front-page New York Times story explored the endorsement and possible links between Falwell, a so-called 'pool boy,' a comedian, and Michael Cohen."

"These events may have changed the course of history," Bee said. "But in The New York Times' quest to explain why Falwell endorsed Trump, they left the most important question unanswered." She explored (and eventually answered) that question, which is NSFW, and other related mysteries. Like: "Why would Jerry Falwell Jr. the chancellor of a school with a longstanding anti-LGBTQ history, put up $1.8 million to invest in a gay-friendly hostel with a man he only recently met?" And why did Cohen step in when things got acrimonious and somebody threatened to release racy and compromising photos of Falwell's wife.

"Did Cohen want to bury these sexy photos out of the goodness of his heart?" Bee asked. "Or was it, perhaps, in exchange for a certain presidential endorsement?" She showed a video of Falwell very awkwardly endorsing Trump, then feigned a phone call with TBS's legal department to lay out what she couldn't spell out on air. We learned about the sexy photos thanks to Tom Arnold, who, "like any good friend," Bee said, "covertly recorded Cohen revealing the Falwells' secret, and then he ... sent our show their entire conversation, because you can apparently just text Tom Arnold and he will answer. So what did Tom Arnold discover?" Well, he answered Bee's big question. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.