HOUSTON - The wife of evangelical pastor Joel Osteen got physical when her demands that a small spill on her seat be cleaned up were not immediately met, a flight attendant testified Thursday at a civil trial over the incident.
Continental Airlines flight attendant Maria Johnson testified that Victoria Osteen grew increasingly agitated and pushed her co-worker Sharon Brown, though the flight attendants had remained professional and reassured her a crew had been called to clean the spill, which was about the size of a 50-cent piece.
"She was demanding that attention be given to her immediately," Johnson said. She added that Victoria Osteen kept saying: "This is ridiculous. I'm a first-class passenger."
Brown is suing Victoria Osteen, alleging that she threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her in the breast before the start of a 2005 flight to Vail, Colo.
Johnson confirmed Brown's claims that Victoria Osteen became so upset she tried to get into the cockpit and had to be physically restrained.
"She took Sharon by the shoulders and pushed her out of the way. Sharon stumbled," Johnson testified.
Rusty Hardin, Victoria Osteen's attorney, said the lawsuit is simply a money grab.
"This is nothing more than an attempted extortion," Hardin told jurors during opening statements in the trial in which he said his client did nothing wrong. While questioning Johnson, Hardin suggested that she and Brown might have overreacted or that Johnson might not have remembered the confrontation correctly.
Just before her testimony concluded, Johnson suggested race might have played a role because of remarks Victoria Osteen made about wanting to deal only with Johnson, who is white, and not with Brown or another flight attendant on the plane, who are black.
Hardin condemned Johnson's claim and pointed out the racial diversity of the congregation at Lakewood Church, of which Victoria Osteen is co-pastor. The Houston church is a converted basketball arena where about 42,000 people flock each week for services where her husband preaches.
Joel Osteen, who was by his wife's side in court Thursday, has written books that have been sold around the globe, and his weekly television address is broadcast nationally and internationally.
Brown's attorney, Reginald McKamie, told jurors during his opening statement that his client was simply doing her job.
"Sharon was attacked by someone in the community who supposedly represents a higher degree of human decency," he said.
Brown's suit claims the flight attendants asked to have Victoria Osteen removed from the plane. Hardin told jurors Victoria Osteen and her family left voluntarily. The incident delayed the flight about 2 1/2 hours.
Hardin admitted that Victoria Osteen can be a "very excitable and expressive person," but that she was never out of control.
"Victoria Osteen never attacked her, never tried to get in the cockpit," Hardin said. "The aggressor and the person who was out of control, who flipped out, was Ms. Brown."
The Osteens were both expected to testify during the trial.
Brown wants an apology and punitive damages amounting to 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth as part of her suit.
"They will say this is about money. But that is the only remedy a jury can offer," McKamie said.
McKamie said Brown, who had undergone reconstructive surgery before the incident on her breasts due to illness, was injured when she was hit on her chest.
Her psychiatrist, Shayna Lee, testified that Brown has suffered depression and post-traumatic stress disorder because of the incident. She also felt disrespected in her role as a leader and as a black woman, and had her faith affected, Lee said.
Brown is also suing Victoria Osteen for medical expenses for counseling.
But Hardin told jurors there is no evidence Brown sustained any injuries, including claims she now suffers from hemorrhoids.
The Federal Aviation Administration fined Victoria Osteen $3,000 for interfering with a crew member.
Hardin told jurors Victoria Osteen paid the FAA fine not because she was guilty but as a way to conclude the matter and avoid any embarrassment for her church.
Johnson confirmed Brown's claims that Victoria Osteen became so upset she tried to get into the cockpit and had to be physically restrained.
Shouldn't the Air Marshall have busted a cap on her ass for this attempted hijacking? Two in the chest and one to the head, quick and clean
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source) shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN! Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people - PeZook Shroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
Hey, she did try to force her way into the cockpit. I suppose we can expect her imminent departure to an all-expense paid, indeterminate stay at the vacation resort of Hotel GITMO (with watersports activities included in the package) any day now...
When ballots have fairly and constitutionally decided, there can be no successful appeal back to bullets.
—Abraham Lincoln
People pray so that God won't crush them like bugs.
—Dr. Gregory House
Oil an emergency?! It's about time, Brigadier, that the leaders of this planet of yours realised that to remain dependent upon a mineral slime simply doesn't make sense.
—The Doctor "Terror Of The Zygons" (1975)
Johnson confirmed Brown's claims that Victoria Osteen became so upset she tried to get into the cockpit and had to be physically restrained.
Shouldn't the Air Marshall have busted a cap on her ass for this attempted hijacking? Two in the chest and one to the head, quick and clean
They're not on every flight unfortunately. Though they probably had an FFDO which would have been fun if she actually got the door open. Those guys are trigger happy mother fuckers.
You know, I find the fact Brown is suing for 10 per cent of Osteen's net worth and then saying it's "Not about the money" to be pretty...distasteful.
If she wants to prove a point, she should demand Osteen pay a large sum of money to charity.
If she wants justice to be done, she should press charges in criminal court.
JULY 20TH 1969 - The day the entire world was looking up
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. - NEIL ARMSTRONG, MISSION COMMANDER, APOLLO 11
Signature dedicated to the greatest achievement of mankind.
MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST does not mind BREAKING the SOUND BARRIER, because it is INSURED. - Simon_Jester considering the problems of hypersonic flight for Team L.A.M.E.
Patrick Degan wrote:Hey, she did try to force her way into the cockpit. I suppose we can expect her imminent departure to an all-expense paid, indeterminate stay at the vacation resort of Hotel GITMO (with watersports activities included in the package) any day now...
A white female wife of a man of the cloth? No, no. Those are the people they've gone to great lengths to keep OUT of prisons.
Note: I'm semi-retired from the board, so if you need something, please be patient.
PeZook wrote:You know, I find the fact Brown is suing for 10 per cent of Osteen's net worth and then saying it's "Not about the money" to be pretty...distasteful.
If she wants to prove a point, she should demand Osteen pay a large sum of money to charity.
If she wants justice to be done, she should press charges in criminal court.
I don't know what the law is in your country (Poland?), but here a civil suit is the only remedy once the 'authorities' decline to press charges.
That said, I'm sure it's about the money but I really can't work up much sympathy for the 'poor victim' being sued.
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."- General Sir Charles Napier
Glocksman wrote:
I don't know what the law is in your country (Poland?), but here a civil suit is the only remedy once the 'authorities' decline to press charges.
Ah, in that case it's understandable. I just didn't know that.
And yeah, Poland. How did you ever guess that?
Glocksman wrote:That said, I'm sure it's about the money but I really can't work up much sympathy for the 'poor victim' being sued.
Yeah, I know what you mean. The bitch threw a temper tantrum of epic proportions. She should've ended up in jail/fined or doing community service, but since that won't happen, I guess getting slapped with outrageous damages is good enough, too.
JULY 20TH 1969 - The day the entire world was looking up
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. - NEIL ARMSTRONG, MISSION COMMANDER, APOLLO 11
Signature dedicated to the greatest achievement of mankind.
MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST does not mind BREAKING the SOUND BARRIER, because it is INSURED. - Simon_Jester considering the problems of hypersonic flight for Team L.A.M.E.
I honestly didn't see your 'location' tag until after I posted, and was going off of your signature pic.
My defense is that I didn't want to inadvertently offend you*.
*My own ancestry is Polish/German/French/English, so don't feel left out if you weren't offended, as I'm an equal opportunity offender.
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."- General Sir Charles Napier
Glocksman wrote:
My defense is that I didn't want to inadvertently offend you*.
*My own ancestry is Polish/German/French/English, so don't feel left out if you weren't offended, as I'm an equal opportunity offender.
Okay, now I'm trying to figure out what could've possibly offended me
I was just making a crack at the unsure "Poland?" thing, seeing as I have the national symbology plastered all over my profile
Really, even if you didn't include the question mark and I was from, say, Timbuktu, I really don't think I'd have a right to be all offended...
JULY 20TH 1969 - The day the entire world was looking up
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. - NEIL ARMSTRONG, MISSION COMMANDER, APOLLO 11
Signature dedicated to the greatest achievement of mankind.
MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST does not mind BREAKING the SOUND BARRIER, because it is INSURED. - Simon_Jester considering the problems of hypersonic flight for Team L.A.M.E.
It's sad, all I've heard around here is not about how much of a douche she was being but only about the lawsuit.
Everyone (well the ones that actually care, i.e. Evangelicals) is just up in arms about how someone could go after a preacher's wife like that. No mention of her trying to break into the cockpit or how much of a stuck up, snobby bitch she was being.
I actually have no doubt that the lawsuit is about the money but it aggravates me to no end that people are defending that rancid bitch. It doesn't surprise me in the least, but it still aggravates the hell out of me.
As an aside, her husband gives off the worst, used car salesman vibes I have ever gotten from a preacher and I really wish I didn't have to come across his picture voice or anything to do with him.
The Gentleman from Texas abstains. Discourteously.
PRFYNAFBTFC-Vice Admiral: MFS Masturbating Walrus :: Omine subtilite Odobenus rosmarus masturbari Soy un perdedor.
"WHO POOPED IN A NORMAL ROOM?!"-Commander William T. Riker
The Spartan wrote:It's sad, all I've heard around here is not about how much of a douche she was being but only about the lawsuit.
Everyone (well the ones that actually care, i.e. Evangelicals) is just up in arms about how someone could go after a preacher's wife like that. No mention of her trying to break into the cockpit or how much of a stuck up, snobby bitch she was being.
I'm amazed apologists haven't jumped into this thread already and started whining about how the airline was being too harsh.
"It's you Americans. There's something about nipples you hate. If this were Germany, we'd be romping around naked on the stage here."
General Zod wrote:
I'm amazed apologists haven't jumped into this thread already and started whining about how the airline was being too harsh.
It's not a praying guy, though. This would require spin worthy of Fox News to make the airline look bad.
Unless, of course, the report turns out to be a steaming pile of bullshit. It happens way too often...
JULY 20TH 1969 - The day the entire world was looking up
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. - NEIL ARMSTRONG, MISSION COMMANDER, APOLLO 11
Signature dedicated to the greatest achievement of mankind.
MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST does not mind BREAKING the SOUND BARRIER, because it is INSURED. - Simon_Jester considering the problems of hypersonic flight for Team L.A.M.E.
General Zod wrote:
I'm amazed apologists haven't jumped into this thread already and started whining about how the airline was being too harsh.
It's not a praying guy, though. This would require spin worthy of Fox News to make the airline look bad.
No, but it's still a bitch causing trouble. Maybe it's the fact that she's actively doing stuff instead of "passively" being a bitch that nobody's tried defending her or something.
"It's you Americans. There's something about nipples you hate. If this were Germany, we'd be romping around naked on the stage here."
"
- PeZook
