In January 2017, Suzy Lamb, then-Daystar TV co-host and daughter-in-law of Daystar founders Marcus and Joni Lamb, claims she was sexually assaulted at Daystar by an unlicensed chiropractor her in-laws had hired.
But when her husband, then-Director of Operations Jonathan Lamb, told his parents about it, they buried the assault, both Jonathan and Suzy told The Roys Report (TRR) in an exclusive interview.
According to the couple, Marcus and Joni maintained a culture of secrecy and protection at the large Christian broadcasting network with more than 100 stations worldwide and an annual revenue of around $100 million.
The couple say they submitted to this culture for more than a decade. But as TRR reported yesterday, Jonathan and Suzy have gone public with their experience at Daystar, specifically Marcus and Joni’s alleged cover-up of their daughter’s sexual assault by a male family member.
Suzy did not talk about her own sexual assault in our first interview. But over the weekend, she told TRR she wanted to stand with her daughter as a sexual assault victim and talk about her assault, too, which remains traumatizing.
Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $50 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you can elect to receive a copy of “Dear Evangelicals: The Real Reasons People Are Exiting Church” by Jamin Coller. To donate, click here.
According to Jonathan and Suzy, the chiropractor had lost his license because of an alleged assault on a minor. TRR is not revealing the chiropractor’s identity because he was never charged with a crime.
But Marcus and Joni believed the chiropractor had come to Christ and was a changed man. So, they invited him to Daystar to work on the family in the family green room, Jonathan and Suzy said. (The green room is a lounge for on-air performers, where they go when they’re not in studio.)
For a couple years, everything went fine, Suzy said, and the man worked on her in the green room without incident.
But then, he started becoming more belligerent. And one day, she said he seemed drunk as he was working on her.
Joni’s assistant was normally in the room with the chiropractor when he was seeing patients. But Suzy said that for about five minutes, the assistant left because she had to use the bathroom.
During the time she was gone, Suzy said the man violently sexually assaulted her. The assault was not rape, Suzy said, but left her reeling in pain.
As soon as the chiropractor left the building, Suzy called Jonathan and told him what had happened.
Jonathan said his “blood was boiling” and he immediately called Marcus and Joni, who were out of town, to report what happened. Jonathan said Marcus told Jonathan he’d “handle it” and instructed Jonathan not to talk about it.
In the meantime, Suzy said it was all she could do to hold herself together, knowing that the chiropractor knew where she lived and used to joke that he knew how to snap someone’s neck in seconds.
The next day, as Suzy prepared to fill in for Marcus and Joni on their show, her body revolted and she threw up in the bathroom. But Suzy said she also knew what was expected of her, so she soldiered on and hosted her show anyway.
Several days later, when Joni was back in town, Suzy said Joni told her that Marcus had paid off the chiropractor, and he wasn’t a threat anymore.
“We need to protect Daystar,” Suzy recalled Joni telling her. “And I want to protect you. So, don’t say a word about it to anyone.”
Suzy said she dutifully obeyed what her mother-in-law told her and eventually “got over it, and I forgot it happened.”
In 2021, the chiropractor passed away.
But in January of this year, Suzy said the trauma of the assault returned and she “started to wake up panicking and sweating.” What especially scared her, she said, was the way Joni had gotten her to bury the assault.
Suzy said she couldn’t help wondering if that was what Joni had done to her 5-year-old daughter when Joni had met with the girl to talk about her assault.
As we reported earlier, in November 2020, Suzy’s daughter disclosed to her that she had been inappropriately touched. The girl then used her hands to indicate she’d been finger raped vaginally and anally.
But when Suzy called Joni to tell her about the alleged abuse, Joni reportedly urged her not to go to police, but instead, to bring the girl to Joni. After the girl met one-on-one with Joni, she stopped talking about the alleged abuse and hasn’t spoken of it to this day, both Suzy and Jonathan told TRR.
In a statement, Daystar denied the allegations that Joni or Marcus covered up her granddaughter’s sexual assault.
“Over three years ago, in a thoroughly investigated and since resolved matter, it was confirmed that any allegations referencing sexual misconduct involving any Lamb family members were not credible and unfounded,” Daystar said. “Marcus and Joni never covered up any type of sexual abuse perpetrated by anyone, nor would they ever tolerate any abuse against their granddaughter or any child.”
Daystar also responded to the allegations concerning Suzy Lamb’s 2017 alleged sexual assault:
Joni Lamb is aware of an incident in 2017 that Suzy Lamb raised involving a chiropractor. Suzy had a long history of requesting the chiropractor at issue to work on her, both at Daystar and at her home. When Suzy was treated at Daystar, a witness was always present, as required by Marcus.
In 2017, Suzy Lamb reported to Marcus and Joni that the chiropractor inappropriately touched her. The word “rape” was never used, and nothing that would constitute rape was mentioned by Suzy. The witness in the room at the time of the alleged incident denied that anything inappropriate occurred. Nonetheless, Marcus immediately released the chiropractor. No one “paid off” the chiropractor, as alleged in your email.
There was never any discussion about whether or not to contact the police, and neither Marcus nor Joni would have ever discouraged Suzy from reporting this incident to the police.
‘Did not recognize that she had been sexually assaulted’
Ex-Dallas Cowboy Kenyon Coleman and his wife, Katie Coleman, own the Redefined Coffee House in Grapevine, Texas. And since 2019, when they met Suzy, the Christian couple and Suzy have grown close.
The Colemans told TRR they remember Suzy bringing up the story of her sexual assault a few years ago.
“There was shame around the story,” Kenyon said, adding that Suzy didn’t even have a category for what had happened to her.
“When Suzy brought this up to me, I was shocked that she did not recognize that she had been sexually assaulted,” he said. “And she was led to believe that because maybe she was flirty, which I know Suzy and I have never seen Suzy act out like that.
“And I was like, ‘Suzy, if someone at the coffee shop did that to one of my employees, I would immediately call the authorities. And I just remember, she started crying.”
Both of them said they urged Suzy for months to get into counseling because it was clear that she had trauma.
Kenyon noted that they have private rooms at the coffee house, and Suzy would go to a room “and weep and just talk about the things that were going on,” he said.
They said Suzy was very resistant to going to counseling and scared that Joni would find out and she’d get in trouble.
The couple said Joni had a lot of control over Suzy, even telling her who she could and couldn’t be friends with.
TRR spoke with Suzy about her relationship with Joni at the time. Suzy said Joni was secretly grooming her to take over as the “matriarch” of the Lamb TV dynasty.
The two would meet privately, Suzy said, so other members of the family wouldn’t get jealous. And when people would ask Joni about their meetings, she’d lie to conceal them, Suzy said, “saying she was getting her nails done but she was with me.”
A major part of the grooming was training Suzy to control the family dynamics to keep warring family members in line, Suzy said.
“For years, I would sit on the phone with Joni for hours in the evening or coffee shops and have these conversations of how to manage all these relationships, how to keep them all under control,” Suzy said. “And I essentially thought I was learning . . . a wealth of information.”
Katie said Joni would often call while Suzy was at the coffeehouse, and Suzy always felt like she had to take her call. Katie said the few times Suzy didn’t take the call, Joni would call back.
“It was easy for me to see how manipulated she was by Joni,” Katie said. “And then also how Joni would just gaslight her and then also really confuse her. And I really believe it was a lot of spiritual abuse.”
Kenyon added that Suzy has a very sensitive conscience and was always agonizing over whether she was doing the right thing. “I feel like Joni really took advantage of the fact that Suzy has the fear of the Lord,” Kenyon added.
In 2024, Suzy said she began seeing Cassie Reid, founder of Cassie Reid Counseling, which helped her accept the truth of what had happened to her. She said when Kenyon called what happened to her “sexual assault,” she didn’t accept it.
“But when I started talking to Cassie, she broke it down for me, to call it what it is,” Suzy said. “And that doesn’t make me inferior to that man who made himself superior. It didn’t change my identity at all. Not a victim, just Suzy.”
Mentoring ends
According to Suzy, Joni’s mentoring came to an abrupt end in August 2021, when Joni sided with the man Suzy and Jonathan suspected of molesting their daughter.
The couples’ relationship with Joni became even more strained, they say, after Marcus died in November 2021, and within months, Joni began texting Doug Weiss, a recently divorced sex therapist.
Jonathan and Suzy do not believe Weiss had biblical grounds for divorce. But they say, when they tried to hold to their convictions, it led to major conflict with Joni. And eventually, it prompted Joni to fire Suzy in July 2023, the couple say.
Full details of that story and the saga of the couples’ last three years at Daystar will be revealed in our next article.
Julie Roys is a veteran investigative reporter and founder of The Roys Report. She also previously hosted a national talk show on the Moody Radio Network, called Up for Debate, and has worked as a TV reporter for a CBS affiliate. Her articles have appeared in numerous periodicals.
English 
Spanish
78 Responses
Ms Roy’s bio describes her as a journalist, but the two recent articles Roy’s has written about Day Star are not good examples of ‘journalism’. Reporting unsubstantiated accusations of sexual assault do not satisfy the standards of journalism. And her choice of subjects reflects a bias.
I do not accuse Jonathan and Suzy Lamb of lying, but the burden of proof lies with them. By their own testimony they reveal they did not immediately report their daughter’s sexual assault or Suzy’s assault to the police. That is irresponsible to say the least and in the case of their daughter it is a crime.
Where is “the rest of the story”?
If you read the article carefully, you’ll see that Jonathan and Suzy Lamb reported the alleged crime the day after their daughter informed them of it.
Thank you for bringing out that fact. Hearing those audiotapes that Jonathan wisely taped while in those horrible meetings with his mother, Joni Lamb Weiss and Jimmy Evan’s, as well as the other one that Jonathan and Suzy endured with Joni and that cruel board member Tom Calendar, were shocking displays of spiritual abuse that no one would have believed if they didn’t hear it for themselves.
The burden of proof does not lie with Jonathan and Suzy and their daughter they are the victims of the coverups by the leadership at Daystar. I commend Julie Roys for her reporting on this story, too many people are just wanting SA to be swept under the carpet “nothing to see here”! It seems the leadership of this huge television network has made an idol of it and doesn’t want anyone to tarnish its image. This is not serving God in all humbleness and humility like Jonathon and Suzy are doing.
Thank God for The Holy Spirit exposing. I pray for healing for Jonathon and Susie and their daughter healing Spiritually Emotionally Mental and Phisically
The one abused here was the child…the rest is all family politics and pandering for positions. The question is there now an actual police investigation of the abuser?
It’s beyond comprehension and disgusting that the parents are playing victim, while they helped silence their own child! Not until they both lost their high income positions in the family dynasty are they divulging their daughter’s abuse! How thoughtful of them to make her live this out publicly when for years she suffered silently! Julie Roy’s…if you are going to cover this story…ask the parents these questions. Her parents -not grandparents-will stand accountable to God for their daughter.
It is very sad and disturbing that many ministries are turning into dynasties. God and Family relationships are much more important than reputation and money…or at least that’s the way it should be. I pray for Suzy, Jonathan and their children to be able to move forward from this trauma and find healing through God’s grace and justice.
The bigger issue is the sexual assault over how they feel about Joni’s marriage. Why isn’t this being brought forward and dealt with. I feel they are being pressured to resign so the sexual issue can be hidden. I believe this is above whether they approve of the marriage. My heart is shame on Jimmy Evans and Joni . . . I believe they are more concerned about Daystar and it going down or maybe Joni would have to step aside. I do not agree that Suzy and Jon need to step aside.
My respect of Joni and Jimmy is at zero. We are no longer giving to them and we have given for years.
I firmly believe Jonathan and Suzy were being bullied very badly.Joni and Jimmy Evans, made Jonathan feel the was not man to control Suzy. From what is now coming to light about Doug Weiss, and the trauma he caused his female patients, not to mention how he mislead patients about his various degrees, and claiming to be licensed to be a sex therapist.
After listening to that horrible tape recording in 2023, and how much Joni boasted that Doug was a man of God, and Jonathan and Suzy had better treat Doug with respect. and how in the coming months ,they will see what a man of truth, sincerity etc… , he will show everyone, He is right where God wants him! It’s all unraveling, Joni, and I think you’re going to be apologizing to your wonderful son and daughter in love, because, they were right all along, and we’re only trying to to protect you! It’s a shame what has happened to your family!
This is so sad.
I pray for Christians everywhere that will be affected by this dishonesty. We need to do better folks.
We are never going to be perfect but the hypocrisy is what hurts. Tell the truth trust God to fix it and just do better. Joni and Marcus claim they built Daystar.
That’s the problem!!!
Let God build it back .
Church we need to pray pray pray.
Pray for Jonathan Suzy and their precious daughter. Pray for Joni and Rachel. They are going to face some serious truths. God is a great problem solver. Nothing is too big for Him.
I agree God is a problem solver. We need to pray for all Daystar family.
Theirs truths that are out. The investigation that was supposed to happen; for the daughter :if Marcus did put stop to it: then truths need to be exposed:for restoration. Listening to some of the recordings with
Joni, Jimmy Evans , Jonathan and others, I believe humbleness and
Sincere heart is what I pray for.
It saddened my heart to hear the way Mr Evans spoke and Joni , choice of words , seemed very controlling.
Could not possibly Jonathan JW and Rebecca help by speaking out truth about their situation and experience with this named Mr.Pete
So that an investigation could bare witness to truth.
My prayers are with you all, and may God get all the Glory when restoration is restored.
Debbie, Canada
After listening to the audio of the meeting between Joni and Jimmy and Jonathan and Suzie, the emphasis on “submitting” is dominant, as is pervasive in the charismatic church. They use “touch not my anointed” to control and silence people who may have questions or even different perspectives. Even “rebellion is as witchcraft” is used when there is a dissenting opinion, as Joni used in the audio, suggesting that Jonathan was in that category. Again, an accusation to control. Then there are people who they call “unteachable.”
Jesus said that we are not to be like the
Nicolations; those who lord over others. Perhaps God is exposing this method of control the charismatic church has been using, for far too long , to free His church so all can share their gifts in equality, as His glorious, pure and holy Bride.
I would just like to add a few words that would make a huge difference in your comment: “…some in…” When you wrote, “…method of control the charismatic church has been using far too long.” It should read “…method of control some in the charismatic church…” Let’s not make this a sweeping indictment of all charismatic churches.
I have a thought dear fellow believers!! Don’t let evil steal your blessing from giving! Just switch it.
This is what did several years ago. I’ll give to these podcasters, like Julie Roys, belting out the truth like their hair is on fire! Promoting the true kingdom on earth. Calling us back to our true love and pure worship of Jesus!
These little soldiers are not famous, not wealthy, do not have mansions or airplanes on earth.
Give to these people, the Lord is blessing their work rejoicing with them and weeping with them. Very much like the new testament church. They come into our homes and share the gospel and expose evil!!
Enter in to your Joy of giving. 🙏🏻🏆❤️🔥
Who is this Pete person?
I would never believe a family member over my child ,and grandchild.
I think it is highly possible that Joni is a narcissist with the lying, denial cover ups. Perhaps, Marcus too was one. All this odd and abusive behavior of gaslighting and denial , is character traits of a narcissist parent.
Kenneth Bridges echoes my thoughts exactly! This is “rresponsible journalism” but it does keep Julie Roy’s relevant, doesn’t it?
Have you noticed, Suzy Lamb is at the center of each and every conflict, too, as the perpetual victim and antagonist making (as yet) unsubstantiated claims!
Jonathan (& Suzy) accepts NO responsibility either in any of this and along with his wife is enjoying all the media attention! It was their job, not Joni’s and not Daystar’s, to report these “alleged” incidents to the proper legal authorities when they happened! Did either of them do that? No!
It was Suzy’s job to read viewer’s comments (not her own) aloud and on air. Did she do that? No!
As President of Daystar, it is Joni’s job to make final hiring and final termination decisions in certain cases. She is NOT GOD, nor does she claim to be, but she does have the responsibility to make wise business decisions which happened to include firing two employees and relatives (Jonathan and Suzy) who were rebellious, disrespectful and were causing problems on the job!
It is also Jon is prerogative as a grown woman to decide who she would or would not marry, with or without her grown children or their spouses approval. She did that after a year of premarital counseling. If she chose incorrectly that is between her and God. David wrongly chose Bathsheba, remember?
Jonathon and Suzy need to own some responsibility for the mess they are creating! “Love covers a multitude of sins!” So where is the love?
In other words any comments that disagree with your own biased reporting are being deleted?
Suzy says
Suzy says
Suzy says
Suzy says…
Guess who started all this and who remains center stage taking no responsibility for her part in all of this?
Suzy says Suzy says…