ybvdadminuser(RNS) — Daystar is losing a number of its popular stars after months of ongoing scandal at the influential Christian television network involving alleged abuse cover-up, spiritual abuse and financial misconduct. At least six program hosts, most recently including evangelical heavyweights Jack Graham, Jesse Duplantis, Lance Wallnau and Hank and Brenda Kunneman, have parted ways with the network, though most have not cited the scandal as reason for their departure.
It’s unclear whether these exits could signal financial trouble for Daystar, a key player in the world of charismatic celebrities and conservative politics.
In November, investigative journalist Julie Roys reported that Joni Lamb, president of the network, was accused by her son, Jonathan Lamb, and his wife, Suzy Lamb, of covering up abuse against their 5-year-old daughter, an allegation Joni has repeatedly denied.
In an email to RNS, Daystar confirmed the departures of Graham, Duplantis, Wallnau and the Kunnemans. The network noted the exits represent a small percentage of their 100 third-party programmers and said it’s typical for Daystar to experience small turnover ahead of the Dec. 31 contract renewal deadline.
“Our information indicates these non-renewals were made for reasons totally unrelated to Daystar,” the email said. “Most of them have confirmed this publicly. And some of these programmers have indicated to us they hope to come back in 2026. Allegations that the 4 programmers left over controversy are false.”
Daystar added that Joni Lamb continues to strongly deny the allegations against her. “Daystar does not support these false allegations and is deeply saddened by Jonathan’s refusal to participate in and work toward peaceful reconciliation and relational restoration, for which Daystar and other Lamb family members had hoped.”
Duplantis, a televangelist and American charismatic celebrity, announced his departure from Daystar earlier this week. Duplantis, who has faced criticism for calling poverty a curse as part of a prosperity gospel message, denied he was leaving due to the recent scandal, saying he left because God told him to, and his contract ended in December.
Wallnau, a charismatic Christian who has promoted Donald Trump as anointed by God, said on X he pulled his Daystar show for “economic reasons” and “would stay” if he could better afford it (programmers must purchase time to be featured on Daystar). Wallnau has played a crucial role in leveraging the political influence of the New Apostolic Reformation, a collective of Christian leaders who believe God is working through Trump to rebuild God’s kingdom in the United States.
The Kunnemans, founders of One Voice Ministries and influential pastors who lead Lord of Hosts Church in Omaha, Nebraska, are also pulling their show, according to The Roys Report, though they have not publicly shared why.
Graham, a Southern Baptist pastor, is also no longer listed as a host on the Daystar website.
In November, Canadian author Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson pulled her Daystar show due to what she called the “ethical deficits” of senior executives, and a month later an international ministry led by Baruch Korman also cut ties, citing unspecified concerns with the network’s ability to “embrace God’s standards.”
Dozens of other prominent hosts remain connected with the network, including Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Paula White-Cain, Robert Jeffress and T.D. Jakes, per the Daystar website.
Founded in the 1990s, the Texas-based Daystar Television Network, which aims to spread the Gospel “24 hours a day, seven days a week,” has grown to become one of the most influential players in Christian TV. According to its website, the network reaches over 6.85 billion viewers worldwide, and Daystar told RNS it added 140 million homes to its worldwide coverage in 2024 and saw “a 60% increase in salvations” last year.
Matthew D. Taylor, a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, also noted the political clout of many of the Daystar celebrities, saying Trump connected with evangelical leaders like White-Cain, Copeland, Graham and Jeffress ahead of his 2016 victory.
“Daystar has not only been a very, very important force in charismatic Christianity and in creating this celebrity culture, but it’s also been a very, very important source of Christian support for Donald Trump, and has been a platform that he has very much benefited from,” said Taylor. In October, Joni Lamb spoke at a faith summit with roughly 3,000 attendees in Georgia that hosted Trump, as well as influential faith leaders, including White-Cain and Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
“If we add our salt to this election, we can preserve and reinforce America as one nation under God,” Joni Lamb said at the event, which was streamed on Daystar.
Daystar founder Marcus Lamb died in November 2021 due to complications from COVID-19 and left his wife, Joni, in charge of the network, with their children and children-in-law working as employees.
According to the November article from the Roys Report, in August 2021, Jonathan Lamb reportedly caught a male family member in a room with his naked daughter, eight months after the child had first reported being molested by an unnamed man. Jonathan and Suzy Lamb claim Joni and Marcus Lamb defended the accused family member as innocent. The family member, who has not been named publicly, has denied the claims and has not been charged, according to a December story from The Dallas Morning News. Jonathan and Suzy Lamb have also accused Joni of urging Suzy not to report the alleged abuse to police, though the Roys Report said the couple eventually did so anyway. An investigation by Colleyville Police is ongoing. The Colleyville Police Department did not respond to RNS questions in time for publication.
Daystar has claimed a 2021 internal investigation cleared the alleged perpetrator of wrongdoing, something Jonathan and Suzy Lamb dispute. After Marcus Lamb died in November 2021, Joni Lamb was named successor, a move Jonathan reportedly characterized as retaliation for accusing a family member of abuse. In spring 2024, Jonathan told the Roys Report he was demoted from vice president to a manager position after refusing to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
Joni Lamb married sex therapist and Daystar guest Doug Weiss in June 2023, though Jonathan and Suzy told the Roys Report they opposed the marriage, saying Weiss had not divorced his previous wife on biblical grounds. In June 2023, Suzy Lamb was reportedly fired from her position as co-host of Daystar show “The Green Room,” and Jonathan Lamb was fired from Daystar on Nov. 16, 2024, due to “deficiencies in … judgment and performance,” per a termination letter published by the Roys Report. The couple have also accused Joni Lamb of spiritual abuse and financial misconduct.
Joni Lamb and Daystar continue to deny the claims against them. In a November statement, she said the decision to terminate her son’s employment followed a 15-month review of his performance. She also accused him of “fabricating a smear campaign” and of blackmailing her into being named as president of Daystar.
A month later, Daystar released a video statement addressing the “misinformation” about the network circulating online.
“He was not putting any effort into keeping his job,” Steve Wilhite, senior vice president of affiliate relations at Daystar and the direct report for Jonathan Lamb’s performance improvement plan, said in the video. Wilhite also called the Canadian author Tyler Thompson, who left the network over perceived ethical shortcomings, a “clickbait cockroach” who has “chosen to amplify this controversy as an opportunity to revitalize her struggling YouTube channel.”
According to Taylor, author of “The Violent Take It by Force,” a book about the role of New Apostolic Reformation leaders such as Wallnau in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, the scandals at Daystar are emerging against the backdrop of two significant cultural trends: the slew of abuse allegations coming out against charismatic leaders such as International House of Prayer’s Mike Bickle and Robert Morris of Gateway Church, and the ability of Trump to be elected while embroiled in his own set of scandals.
“The fact of Trump being back in office after everything that he did, after Jan. 6, after all the scandals, after being convicted of … assaulting a woman, I feel like, in many ways, that creates cultural permission structure to sweep things like this under the rug, or to just deny them,” said Taylor. Whether Daystar’s scandals will sway its loyal base, said Taylor, or whether news of the scandals will reach them at all, remains an open question.
