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Televangelist's wife cleared in spill spat

E-mail|Link|Comments (1) Posted by Michael Paulson August 14, 2008 09:26 PM

Victoria Osteen, the wife of televangelist Joel Osteen, was cleared today by a jury in a civil lawsuit in which she had been accused of assaulting a Continental flight attendant over some spilled liquid on the arm of her first-class seat on a flight to Vail. The Houston Chronicle has exhaustive coverage:

"Thank you, Jesus!" Osteen said as she embraced her defense team, including high-profile lawyer Rusty Hardin, after hearing the verdict. "It feels wonderful," Victoria Osteen said later. "I'm grateful; so grateful."

Joel Osteen is the pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, and Victoria Osteen is the co-pastor. The church claims to be the largest in America; its sanctuary is a former basketball arena with 16,000 seats. The Globe's Suzanne Ryan profiled Joel Osteen in 2005; you can read that story here.

(Photo, by the Houston Chronicle via AP, shows, from left, Joel Osteen, Victoria Osteen, and attorney Rusty Hardin.)

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1 comments so far...

When Jesus chose to keep company with criminals and prostitutes, I don't think televangelists and their wives were precisely what he had in mind.

Posted by Marcus August 14, 08 11:17 PM

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Michael Paulson covers religion for The Boston Globe. He shared in the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, won the Mike Berger, Templeton and Supple awards in 2008, and is a four-time winner of the Wilbur Award.
E-mail mpaulson@globe.com.

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