On Tuesday, Dec. 3, Joni Lamb, the co-founder and president of Daystar Television Network, released a video denying allegations that she covered up abuse.
The video shows Lamb answering questions from her friends Cindy Murdock, Dorothy Newton, Cindy Johnston, and Anna Kendall. Unlike in her previous video statement, which was released on Nov. 25, Lamb provided more details into what happened the day on which her son-in-law is accused of sexually abusing her 5-year-old granddaughter during a family retreat in August 2021, as of an incident in November 2020.
“My first knowledge of any abuse was in November of 2020, and Suzy [Jonathan’s wife] called me and said there had been an incident at my granddaughter’s preschool, and she told me that something had happened where a little boy touched her and her friend,” Lamb explained. “[Suzy] called me and asked me, ‘Would I go to school with her?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
Lamb shared that she accompanied Suzy to the school, saying, “We reported it to the school, and of course, you know, I was there to encourage and as I would for any child, but especially my granddaughter. And so that was the incident that happened.”
Lamb then claimed that what is being written has been “taken out of context. That was the incident that happened in 2020,” she said, “and I was there, and Suzy actually called me to go there.”
Joni Lamb Details 2021 Incident That Took Place at a Family Retreat
Jonathan and Suzy are claiming that Jonathan’s brother-in-law, whom they have anonymously been referring to as “Pete,” sexually abused their 5-year-old daughter at a family retreat in 2021.
Lamb explained that there was “another incident written about that was an incident that happened at our family retreat. This was in 2021, [when] we were all staying in this house together.”
“My two older grandchildren were staying in an upstairs bedroom, and it was a long room, and there was a bunk bed on one side, and there was another bunk bed on the other side,” Lamb continued. “And so my grandson was talking about that he had the city view, and he was saying his sister had the beach view. So one afternoon, he was talking about that, and who they call Pete was in the room holding a 1-year-old baby boy.”
“So they went up the stairs, the grandson and Pete, and Pete had the baby,” Lamb said, adding, “All those details have been left out.”
Lamb reminded everyone that she was in the house when the alleged sexual abuse occurred, saying, “I heard this whole conversation…My granddaughter went up to the room and went over to her side while Pete and the baby and my grandson were looking out the window at the city view.” Lamb said that it was while her grandson and son-in-law were looking out the window that her 5-year-old granddaughter, whom Pete allegedly abuse while he was in the room, “proceeded to put her bathing suit on.”
“Well, about the time she started to put it on,” Lamb added, “Jonathan comes running up the stairs and says [to Pete], ‘What are you doing in here while she’s changing? What are you doing?’”
Jonathan and Suzy described the incident differently to The Roys Report, saying that Pete was alone and followed their 5-year-old daughter upstairs as she was going to change into her swimsuit.
The Roys Report later made a correction to her original article, stating, “Our initial report said Pete was alone in the room with Jonathan and Suzy’s daughter. Pete was holding a baby in his arms and Jonathan and Suzy’s son was on a bunk on the opposite side of the room.”
Lamb recalled that Pete responded to Jonathan by saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Lamb said that she doesn’t know if Pete “actually saw anything, because he was holding the baby and the 8-year-old was there.” Following the incident, Lamb said Marcus led a family meeting. “[Marcus] talked to everyone, and clearly nothing happened,” Lamb recalled.
Joni Lamb Calls Allegations She Covered-Up Any Sexual Abuse an ‘Absolute Lie’
According to The Roys Report, before the 2021 beach house incident, Suzy claims that when Marcus and Joni Lamb were informed that their son-in-law, Pete, might have sexually abused their granddaughter, the Daystar founders “consistently fought to protect Pete and Daystar’s image rather than their own granddaughter.”
Suzy also alleges that on the day her daughter disclosed the alleged sexual abuse, Lamb requested that her son and daughter-in-law not go to the police but instead bring the child to her so that she could speak to her granddaughter alone. Suzy claims that after the conversation Lamb had with their daughter, their daughter wouldn’t talk about the alleged incident and became what Suzy described as a “lock box.”
Unbeknownst to the rest of the family, Jonathan and Suzy still went to the police to file a report, but police closed the case due to the fact that their daughter wouldn’t talk about it. The case has now been reopened after a counseling appointment their daughter prompted the counselor to report the alleged sexual abuse to Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). DFPS then sent a fax to the Texas’ Colleyville Police Department. The report was filed on Feb. 26 and is pending investigation.
Newton asked Lamb if she and Marcus covered up the alleged sexual abuse claims that took place in her family. Lamb responded, “Marcus isn’t here, but I will just say…I never covered up anything. I wouldn’t cover up anything. Marcus didn’t cover up anything.”
“This is a narrative that was written by some low level blogger who knows nothing, never heard the other side of the story, and is doing nothing but trying to destroy my family,” Lamb said, referring to Roys.
“We worked through that misunderstanding, and Jonathan and Suzy ended up apologizing, and we prayed together,” Lamb claimed. “I mean, and it was a done deal. So the timing of this being pulled up again out of the ashes when there’s no validity to it just blew my mind.”
The 2021 beach incident ended differently, according to Suzy recollection. Suzy told The Roys Report that her and Jonathan were summoned to the elder Lambs’ bedroom and were told to repent and pray. Suzy said that Lamb told the family the next day that during her prayer time, God told her that Pete was innocent.
Jonathan told The Roys Report that since the 2021 beach house incident, “Suzy and I have had a strict boundary to keep (Pete and his wife) from ever being alone with (our daughter), nor has he stepped foot into our home.”
Joni Lamb Claims Nothing Changed After the 2021 Beach Incident
Shortly after the 2021 beach house incident, Marcus Lamb, 64, passed away from complications related to COVID-19. Lamb shared that at her family’s encouragement, the Lamb family, minus Rebecca and her family, went on a family retreat in June 2022.
Jonathan and Suzy told The Roys Report that they went because Lamb “was adamant that we go as a family for her sake since she was a new widow” and that they felt sorry for her.
Lamb described it differently. “When we got to the house, everybody will pick their room, and there were bunk beds that were outside Pete’s room. Jonathan and Suzy say, ‘Oh, the kids can sleep here.’” Joni said, “So there was no thought of anything that, you know, would be any issue.”
“Pete actually came to me and said, ‘You know, this is uncomfortable for me.’ Because he didn’t want that to be repeated,” Lamb claimed, saying that she replied, “‘Well, no, we don’t need to put the kids here.’ So I put them on the same floor with their parents. Everything was great. Nothing happened.”
‘I Would Never Protect Anyone Over My Granddaughter,’ Joni Lamb Says
Lamb said that she would always put the safety of her granddaughter over anyone else. “The one incident that happened was in 2020 with her preschool and somehow it has evolved into blaming a family member,” she said.
“I would never protect anyone over my daughter,” Lamb explained. “I would never put the ministry before family. I never have done that. Those are just misconceptions, again, by the low-level blogger who does nothing but be used in a way that is trying to hurt the kingdom of God.”
Dorothy Newton Asks: ‘Why Are Jonathan and Suzy Doing This?’
Newton asked Lamb, “Why are Jonathan and Suzy doing this?”
Lamb responded, “The reason is clear. They did not want someone else coming in and taking their place.”
“But the truth is, Doug didn’t take anybody’s place,” referring to her new husband, Doug Weiss. “Marcus had left strict instructions that if anything ever happened to him that I would be president of Daystar.”
She continued, “A lot of people are saying, ‘Well, you know, Marcus intended for Jonathan to be the president.’ Marcus never intended for Jonathan to be the president while I was alive, or while he was alive.”
“But what happened was, when Doug came into the picture, there was something underneath there that I had never seen before that came to the surface,” Lamb said. “I was shocked, because I had always had a great relationship with everybody.”
Lamb recalled that after Weiss started cohosting with her, an incident in 2023 occurred when Jonathan and Suzy refused to read a cue card that included positive remarks toward Weiss on air.
Jonathan’s actions resulted in him being cut from the show, Lamb explained, saying, “At that point, you could feel in the atmosphere. That’s when it all began.”
“If you had told me back then that they were capable of doing what they’re doing right now, we’d have never believed it,” said Lamb. “I love my son and I love Suzi, I love my grandchildren, and I know more than anything, it would break the heart of Marcus lamb. The fact that Jonathan would tarnish his dad’s name is just shocking to me.”
Joni Lamb Explains ‘Voice of God’ Comment
According to Lamb, the family attempted to handle the situation involving Jonathan and Suzy privately. She claims that during mediation, they would “get something worked out with Jonathan, and then he would go home to Suzy and then come back different. Our board saw that, [as well as other] people in positions of authority.”
Following the incident that took place during the show, Lamb asked Jimmy Evans to mediate a July 2023 meeting between her, Jonathan, and Suzy. Jonathan secretly recorded the meeting and gave it to The Roys Report.
During the meeting, Evans focused on getting Jonathan and Suzy to understand that Lamb is the authority at Daystar because she is the president. By the end of the meeting, both Jonathan and Suzy said that they were “submitted” to Daystar, which included Lamb’s leadership, but said they wouldn’t do something that went against their personal convictions. This included reading remarks praising a marriage they felt was not biblical.
In response, Evans told Jonathan and Suzy that they should “submit or leave.” Evans told Suzy that if she feels she can’t do what is being asked of her, she should quit. “You can’t stick with your conviction and stay,” Evans said.
“Right now, this is a house divided,” Evans said. “[Lamb] doesn’t want you to leave. She’s not asking you to leave. But this can’t happen. Joni has got to have the ability to lead this ministry knowing that everybody under her is submitted.”
“Staying and disagreeing is not an option,” Evans stated. “Submission means [Lamb] is the voice of God to you.”
Jonathan asked Evans, “Can you clarify? She said she’s the voice of God to me?”
“She’s the voice of God to you,” Evans repeated.
“So if I can’t hear from God, I have to hear from her,” Jonathan responded.
Evans explained, “Outside of Daystar. What she says is God in Daystar. This is the voice of God in Daystar.”
“So what accountability does she have if she’s off?” Jonathan asked.
“Well she has her husband,” Evans answered. “She has the board.”
Jonathan said, “I’m on the board.”
“Yeah,” Evans said, “but you’re individually you’re not her accountability. Individually, you’re her employee…[Lamb] is the voice of God in Daystar.”
When Jonathan wanted to know who Lamb’s accountability was at Daystar, Evans told him, “That’s not your concern. Your concern is to do what she says, and if you can’t, you can’t be here.”
Lamb has now clarified Evan’s use of calling her the “voice of God,” saying, “I am not the voice of God. What Jimmy was saying is that I am the voice of authority. He wasn’t saying I was the voice of God.”
The entire recording can be heard here.
Joni Lamb Explains the NDA Jonathan Refused To Sign
Months after the meeting with Evans, Jonathan claims that he was demoted from his position as vice president of Daystar because he refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
Lamb said Tuesday that the NDA was a process that Marcus Lamb had started before he died. “[Marcus] actually talked to an attorney friend about writing something up because Daystar had gotten so big and there was, you know, business and proprietary information that you want to keep private,” she said.
“They’re saying that we were trying to get him to sign an NDA so that they wouldn’t share this information that we didn’t want to share,” Lamb explained. “That’s a complete lie. There was no information to share and you can share any kind of information that is wrong…if there’s some kind of sexual abuse or something.”
Jonathan Lamb Was Fired Following a Performance Improvement Plan
Despite Jonathan’s telling The Roys Report that he was fired on Nov. 16 for refusing to sign an NDA, Lamb said he was terminated after he failed to meet the the goals that were set for him in a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).
Lamb explained that earlier this year, they had to remove Jonathan from many of his department leadership responsibilities, claiming that his lack of performance was affecting Daystar. “So we put him on that the PIP and and we had someone that was over him that kept up with his hours,” she said. “He would come in and then be gone for three hour lunches. [He] wouldn’t tell anybody where he was, didn’t really meet with departments that he was over, and he just completely did not perform at all.”
“Little did I know that there was something else up where they were plotting and planning something to try to hurt me,” Lamb claimed. “To try to hurt Daystar, which, again, is shocking. I would have never thought that would happen.”
Jonathan’s termination letter reads:
“The PIP laid out a list of six specific performance requirements for you to satisfy under the PIP. It was the sincere desire and hope of Daystar that you would accept the opportunity that Daystar offered in the PIP as a pathway for you to learn from and correct your deficiencies, grow your knowledge, and ultimately return to additional administrative and managerial opportunities. You have failed to satisfy the PIP performance requirements. Indeed, you have failed to undertake any meaningful effort to do so with respect to virtually all of them. November 15, 2024 was set in the PIP as the end date for you to achieve satisfactory performance of the PIP. That date has now arrived and will not be extended…You are reminded that the confidentiality agreement you signed on July 2, 2003, and employee handbook acknowledgement on January 30, 2004, in connection with your employment at Daystar remains in effect. Your confidentiality agreement is consistent with the one Suzy Lamb signed as well on October 18, 2011. In addition, you are reminded that any untrue or misleading statements you may make to third parties about Daystar and/or its leaders are subject to defamation laws.”
Joni Lamb Shares How the Allegations From Jonathan and Suzy Have Affected Her
“It’s been difficult,” Lamb told her friends. “I put my happy face on and come to work, but I go home and there are tears. There are moments I’m really sad, because I love my son. I love my daughter in law. I love my grandkids.” She said that Jonathan and Suzy have “put me in an impossible situation and I’m just sorry that we even have to sit here and talk about this.”
While investigating the allegations against Daystar and those being levied against Jonathan and Suzy, ChurchLeaders discovered a social media video of Jonathan and Pete playing golf and laughing together a year after the alleged beach house incident.
In the video, Jonathan can be seen laughing and singing with his brother-in-law. Suzy replied in the comment section, saying, “Bahahah funnnner!!”
On Nov. 24, Daystar has demanded that The Roys Report retract Jonathan and Suzy’s story claiming that 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.”
The Roys Report posted on social media that it has no plans to submit to Daystar’s request and stands behind its reporting.
This week Jonathan and Suzy met with author, preacher, evangelist, and social media influencer Marcus Rogers where they also shared their story.
ChurchLeaders reached out to Daystar and asked if Daystar plans to sue Jonathan and Suzy for defamation, something that Jonathan’s termination letter warned him about. An anonymous source told ChurchLeaders that, “Daystar is weighing its options.”
ChurchLeaders has also reached out to Suzy Lamb through social media for comment and will update in the event of a response.