A dispute among family members is escalating at Daystar Television Network, which demanded that investigative journalist Julie Roys retract her recent articles about the Christian broadcasting empire. Roys, founder of The Roys Report (TRR), indicated she won’t submit to that demand because she maintains that her reporting is accurate.
As ChurchLeaders reported, Jonathan Lamb, son of Daystar co-founder and president Joni Lamb, claims his mother covered up sexual abuse of his young daughter—Joni’s granddaughter—by an unnamed family member. Joni Lamb, who has denied any wrongdoing, said her son and his wife, Suzy, are upset that Jonathan wasn’t chosen to succeed his late father as network president.
RELATED: Daystar Christian TV Empire Rocked by Allegations of Abuse, Cover-Ups, and Smear Campaign
Jonathan Lamb, who was previously demoted at Daystar, was allegedly terminated from the network last month after refusing to sign a non-disclosure agreement and then granting an interview to journalist Roys.
Daystar Attorney: ‘Entire Premise’ of Article Is a ‘Total Fabrication’
On Dec. 2, Roys made the following post on social media:
A lawyer for @Daystar TV has demanded The Roys Report retract our exposés of alleged sex abuse & cover-up at the network. However, Daystar failed to show that any of TRR’s reporting was inaccurate. As a result TRR will not submit to Daystar’s demands. Attorney Christine N. Jones, representing TRR, writes in our response that truth is “an absolute defense to a claim of defamation.” She also notes where Daystar’s letter misquotes our reporting. …
Roys provided a link to her Dec. 2 opinion piece, “The Roys Report Refuses Daystar’s Demand to Retract Articles.” At the end of that article, the journalist posted the full letter from Daystar as well as TRR’s response.
In his Nov. 24 letter demanding a retraction from Roys, Daystar attorney Michael D. Anderson wrote, “The entire premise (emphasis in original letter) for the article is a total fabrication built on baseless accusations of sexual abuse and a supposed cover-up. To that extent, every statement published by you and The Roys Report should be retracted immediately.”
Anderson’s letter lists 28 statements from Roys’ article that he claims are false. These include the article’s introductory trigger warning that “the following story contains a description of child sexual abuse.” Daystar’s attorney wrote that the abuse is “alleged” because “there has been no finding of child sexual abuse.”
Anderson also indicated that Roys’ headline, “Former Daystar Executive & Wife Accuse Joni Lamb of Covering Up Daughter’s Sexual Abuse,” falsely accuses the Daystar president.
From Roys’ Nov. 21 article about Suzy Lamb’s claims of her own sexual assault being covered up, Anderson identified 12 additional statements he said are false. When contacted, Anderson spoke to ChurchLeaders on the phone but stayed off the record.
