Victoria Osteen, the wife of Joel Osteen, best selling author and pastor of the Lakewood mega church was sued by a flight attendant. A jury returned a verdict of innocent, no incident took place.
“If I had to go through this, I could at least be an example of trying to live out what’s right, trying to stand strong and trying to just keep my faith intact,” she said. “I stood strong because I believe in the truth,” she told an AP reporter after the trial.
Victoria Osteen said she never touched Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown and a jury on Thursday believed her, deciding that the co-pastor of Houston’s Lakewood Church did not “attack” the airline employee. Here are some facts that were left out of the coverage in the mainstream media.
Sharon Brown is an African American who according to co-workers was jumping on the opportunity to embarrass the Osteens into settling out of court for six figures. Brown’s attorney was most likely working on contingency.
The frivolous lawsuit was started while the Duke lacrosse team travesty was taking place.
The dirty secret that has been kept out of the reporting, is that there is in deed racism in America; the “get whitey” brand.
After the jury’s verdict, which came following a week-long trial, Victoria Osteen began to cry and hugged her attorneys and several supporters in the courtroom as she said “thank you God” and “praise God.” The 12 jurors deliberated for just 2 hours.
Brown had testified Victoria Osteen got so upset when a spill on her first-class seat’s armrest was not quickly cleaned up that she threw the flight attendant against a bathroom door and elbowed her in the left breast while attempting to rush into the cockpit.
But Victoria Osteen testified no such incident took place, as did her husband and other first-class passengers. No body saw that dramatic attack in a crowded first class section.
Brown quickly left the courtroom without talking to reporters.
She had been seeking at least $405,000 for actual damages — physical and mental pain as a result of an attack she alleged took place before the start of a December 2005 flight from Houston to Vail, Colo.
The jury’s foreman, Gilles Labbe, said he and other jurors believed what happened on the plane was not an attack but a disagreement between a passenger and one or more flight attendants.
“This lawsuit in my opinion should not have been filed because nothing happened,” he said.
“It’s a great vindication …” he said.
In his closing argument earlier Thursday, Rusty Hardin, Victoria Osteen’s attorney, dismissed Brown’s lawsuit as a made-up story concocted to land a courtroom payday.
In his closing argument, McKamie told jurors that because of Victoria Osteen’s status as a religious leader, she felt she had “favor from God.” That led her to believe she was above reproach for humiliating and assaulting his client, he said.
Besides money for actual damages, Brown had requested punitive damages amounting to 10 percent of Victoria Osteen’s net worth as part of her lawsuit. He said it’s just the sliver of the amount of a Monet painting… That’s all.
5 responses so far ↓
Anonymous // August 18, 2008 at 11:15 am |
Tribune: Paper “Is Where Minority Reporters Can Go to Die”
The Chicago Tribune laid off more than 40 newsroom employees on Friday, including a disproportionate number of journalists of color, according to newsroom employees there.
“Coupled with last week’s voluntary exit of more than 30 journalists,” the additional cutback “means the paper has cut 80 people from its editorial staff as part of cost-cutting campaign at all of parent Tribune Co.’s newspapers,” Phil Rosenthal wrote on the Tribune’s Web site.
Among those called in Friday and told their jobs were eliminated was Ray Quintanilla, a 14-year Tribune veteran. “It’s sad because if you look at the list, it’s heavily minority. It looks bad,” he told Journal-isms. He said his marching orders came a day after he challenged a powerful white Tribune columnist who for the fifth time had hired a white assistant, asking the columnist if he had considered any people of color. He recalled that owner Sam Zell had told employees to question authority.
Quintanilla said the columnist publicly challenged him to a fight, and said he has filed a complaint with the Tribune’s human relations department.
The reporter said he could not prove his layoff was related to the Thursday incident, but said, “It just smells bad to me.”
Neither the columnist nor Tribune editor Gerould W. Kern could be reached for comment.
Other departing journalists of color included Norman O. Unger, an assistant editor; Mark Hinojosa, assistant managing editor for multimedia; Paul Iwanaga, a photo editor; Michael Martinez, Los Angeles correspondent; Gentry Sleets, graphic artist; and editors Donna Pierce, Emeri B. O’Brien and Jeffrey Williams, among others, according to a list compiled by religion writer Manya Brachear and other newsroom sources. –Journal isims.com
Mick // August 18, 2008 at 7:14 pm |
The entire newspaper industry is in a death spiral and a black journalism foundation in Oakland only cares about black journalists layoffs.
Isn’t that raw racism?
Nomad // August 18, 2008 at 9:21 pm |
Generally speaking, folks keep employees who make the boss (company) look good and who make the company money.
It is amazing that Continental is keeping Brown, because she has sued a fellow employee and she has sued a passenger. Based on the evidence and the verdict, it seems very unlikely that Osteen assaulted her. One can only guess, but it is possible that Osteen did not use the best “form” when speaking with the flight attendant. Most employees in customer service type jobs are trained to cope with passengers who are “unpleasant.” I do hope that Osteen and Brown have learned something from this experience. With reference to folks losing their jobs…I do believe that even in this day and age, there will be a very tiny percentage of unfair practices due to prejudices. However, again…for the most part…you can count on money talking and if you are doing a good job for your employer, chances are you will be the last one to go.
Nomad // August 18, 2008 at 9:24 pm |
p.s. I agree…the entire newspaper industry, if not journalism as a whole…is in a death spiral. When I watch the news, I am outraged. There is not a good presentation of facts, nor a variation of viewpoints. I tell young people all the time, “I promise you that this is not how it is suppose to be, nor how it was years ago.”
humiliating my husband // September 4, 2008 at 2:02 pm |
[...] of innocent, no incident took place. ???If I had to go through this, I could at least be an exhttp://sadbastards.wordpress.com/2008/08/17/ugly-racisim-behind-the-flight-attendants-lawsuit-agains…Give me a randy politician any time – as long as he cuts inflation Guardian UnlimitedComment is [...]