Victoria Osteen, Joel Osteen's Wife, Accused Of Assaulting A Flight Attendant

HOUSTON — A jury was seated Wednesday in a lawsuit alleging the wife of nationally known pastor Joel Osteen assaulted a flight attendant.

Opening arguments were set for Thursday in a case Victoria Osteen's lawyer called "silly." But Reginald McKamie, attorney for Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown, said he hopes the trial will show "that celebrity status doesn't take precedence."

Brown accuses Victoria Osteen of assaulting her before the start of a 2005 flight from Houston to Vail, Colo. Brown alleges Victoria Osteen threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her in the left breast during an angry outburst over a stain on her first-class seat. The Federal Aviation Administration fined Victoria Osteen $3,000 for interfering with a crew member.

Joel Osteen was at his wife's side Wednesday in court. McKamie said he expected to call the couple as witnesses.

Joel Osteen preaches at Lakewood Church, a Houston megachurch where about 42,000 people flock each week and where Victoria Osteen is co-pastor. His weekly television address is broadcast nationally and internationally.

Some potential jurors during questioning admitted to being star-struck by the Osteens and that their respect for them might affect their judgment.

"He has gotten me through a lot of tough times. I would believe what he has to say. I have a lot of respect for him," one female in the jury pool said.

Other potential jurors said they didn't like preachers or televangelists and that ministers can lie.

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Brown wants an apology and punitive damages amounting to 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth as part of her suit.

Victoria Osteen's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said before jury selection began Wednesday that Brown's claims are false and that what happened was a "minor incident." Hardin also asked a judge to throw out an FAA report detailing the alleged incident, saying the agency's investigation was "incredibly incomplete."

"This is a very silly case," Hardin told reporters.

McKamie said the FAA did an appropriate investigation. State District Judge Patricia Hancock said she would make a decision later on whether the report would be allowed.

Brown's suit claims the flight attendants asked to have Victoria Osteen removed from the plane. Hardin says Victoria Osteen and her family left voluntarily. The incident delayed the flight about 2 1/2 hours.

According to court documents, Brown claims that she suffers from anxiety and hemorrhoids because of the incident and said her faith was affected. She is also suing Osteen for medical expenses for counseling.

Brown had previously claimed she was attacked in another incident by an airport employee, according to a deposition she gave in the case.

Comments

[icemilkcoffee]

And why would a woman of the cloth be traveling first class now?

[kasule]

why shouldn't she??

[helonias]

I agree she obviously isn't a christian

[Johnagain]

Because true Christians live their lives following Jesus's example, that's why. The phonies ascribing to the prosperity-centered perverse form of Christianity so popular the uneducated, are a pack of thieving dogs. Jesus would puke in the faces of the the Joel Osteens of this world if were to come back to earth.

[AlphaMutt]

ANOTHER false prophet?

Geez, didn't see that comin'....

[OtayPanky]

If we can only find pictures of Joel Osteen nekkid with John Edwards' alleged girlfriend, we'll have a trifecta.

[paixa3]

LOL

[Shelly1970]

I've seen this guys work. He's no pastor. He's a con.

[Driver125]

Yes, of course he is, but one of the creepy/scary type cons. The type who actually believe in themselves. He's the type of religious waco who would welcome the Armageddon with open arms and gladly lead his multitude into the fires. Now his wife just appears to be the standard-style hustler--100% in it for the money.

[Bubba Gump]

One of the great apostles, Peter, often had a bad day. Jesus loved and forgave Peter anyway. Because Christ knew Simon Peter was trying to grow spiritually and, given time, Peter would rise above his past bad habits. Even with the foreknowledge that Peter was about to deny Jesus three times, at a moment of crisis and when Jesus needed Peter's help the most, Jesus went ahead and cleaned up Peter's mess by reattaching the ear of a soldier which Peter had assaulted with a sword. And Peter did grow, learning from trial and error.

If Victoria Osteen did as was alleged (and in America, we still assume innocence until guilt is proven), I hope and pray that she learns from it and that a proper way to handle this situation is reached.

And equally, I hope and pray for Sharon Brown, the flight attendant. Because I know what it felt like when a pastor, someone I admired and trusted, unfairly lashed out at me and my family.

[italianman004]

Money is not the root of all evil it what you did to get it.

[nunzia]

Well, kee-riste! You sure picked the right moniker for yourself.

[fishsandwichesr2good]

Yep. He can go on all day about dem shrimp and hemorrhoids. Fried hemorrhoids, bake stuffed hemorrhoids, hemorrhoid cocktail, crab-stuffed hemorrhoids, coconut hemorrhoids, BBQ hemorrhoids, and (my favorite) jumbo hemorrhoids!

[mabinog]

This is civil trial and neither the burden of proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" nor innocent until proven guilty apply. In fact guilt does not enter into it at all.

I would not worry much though I don't know what kind of damages this woman is going to prove with hemorrhoids and anxiety coming as a result of being man-handled by someone acting in an Un-Christian fashion. She may well have been assaulted but I did not see anything about broken bones, cuts, or even bruises. Hemorrhoids and anxiety you can practically get from a bad date, sheesh. The jury may find that she assaulted this flight attendant but I don't think she is getting much money from the Osteens.

[Furby]

Pray for yourself too while you're at it.

[4peace]

The Federal Aviation Administration fined Victoria Osteen $3,000 for interfering with a crew member.

She must have done something to deserve a 3K fine..............

[111]

What kind of mess was it that was so big the cleaning crew had to be called?
Why didn't the first flight attendant offer to call the cleaning crew if s/he could not manage it alone?

Doesn't anyone here wonder why this flight attendant is holding Ms. Olsteen responsible for her hemorrhoids? Since when does getting pushed give someone hemorrhoids? If that's true, maybe I'll sue NYC Transit if I ever develop 'rhoids. not to mention her crisis of faith - puhlese.

If you are paying for a seat on the plane, regardless of what class, you have the right to ask that it be clean and dry since you are going to occupy it for a number of hours.

Ms. Brown decided she can retire young because a rich person bumped into her.

BTW - I'm an atheist who doesn't have feelings about rich people or evangelists or flight attendants

May Flight Attendant Brown have to sit in someone else's wet something for a few hours one day - then she'll know what anxiety really is.

[helonias]

Psssst, there are no rich christians silly

[dogman44]

Maybe the FA was pushed very hard into say, a doorknob. It penetrated her causing
hemorrhoids. After that she lost faith that god was covering her @ss. Use your
imagination!

[groucho]

I know this is incidental to the bigger story, but how did she get hemorrhoids? I thought she was shoved in the breast. Wierd thing to add to her complaint. I know the flight attendant is right, anyone who asks to have a stain removed from the seat of her chair and disrupts people in the cockpit about it, is abusive already.
We should all send them $1000 today so they can get a nice, clean private jet.

[treklady]

Stress, eating habits, constipation, stress on the pot=hemorrhoids
STRESS will be what she uses for her hemorrhoid problem. I worked with someone that used this to sue and won, beats me but this is my guess of this situation.

[Jared137]

A stain on her first class seat? Don't the little people know how to clean? I would have ripped her a new one.

[BruntLIVE]

This lady reminds me of Charles Stanley (preacher) ex-wife. These are the women BEFORE these guys get big. Once they are know, they start acting uppity. Look at her eyes, you think Jesus is in this lady? LOL Hardly.

[Donnat]

She does have the eyes of a drug addict or possibly a serial killer.

[seenitall]

politician's wife...

[italianman004]

ditto

[Ihaveadream]

They'll be invited to go on Larry King to explain why they're perfect and to promote his latest book, "You Too Can be Perfect - Subtitle - A Perfect A**hole"

[helonias]

If she was innocent why hire a lawyer?

Isn't god on her side?

[kellygrrrl]

I wonder if the parish paid the Legal Defense bill

[popecorvo]

The actions of modern day Christians have as much to do with the teachings found in the New Testament as Communism in modern China has to do with the writings of Karl Marx.

In other words, nothing whatsoever.

[luvangelHussein330]

She wanted to share the love of G_d by layinbg hands on her...thats all. His wife is a prayer worrior.

[dogman44]

She was attempting to heal the FA's hemorrhoids.

[learnsomething]

I didn't know Joel's Osteen's wife was such a b*tch. I guess all that money is making her feel all superior and stuff.