As with most evangelical Christians, Jerry Falwell, founder of the fallaciously named ‘Moral Majority’, just couldn’t keep his bigotry to himself.

During a 1984 TV debate with Jerry Sloan, a former classmate from Baptist Bible College, Falwell was accused of attacking the LGBT-friendly Metropolitan Community Church. Amongst other things, Falwell was alleged to have called the Church “brute beasts” and “a vile and Satanic system”. Just to top it off, he was also alleged to have said that, “one day it will be utterly annihilated and there will be a celebration in heaven.”

Falwell denied the statements and said he would pay $5,000 if Sloan could produce evidence. When Sloan subsequently produced a tape showing that all of those things had, indeed, been said, Falwell refused to pay up.

So Sloan duly took him to court – and won his case.

But forever in denial, Falwell launched an appeal against the decision. His argument? That the judge who had heard the original case was Jewish and therefore prejudiced! To the surprise of no one except Falwell, he lost his appeal. He was also ordered to pay an additional $2,875 in sanctions and court fees.

Jerry Sloan donated the money towards the building of the Lambda Community Center, Sacramento’s first LGBT community center.