Jonathan Lamb, the son of Daystar Television Network co-founders Marcus and Joni Lamb, was fired last week from the global Christian television network headquartered in Bedford.
In a Thursday interview, Lamb said Daystar had a “submission culture.” He said he was removed from the network’s board and from his role as vice president in 2023 after he was unwilling to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
Lamb was put on a performance improvement plan in April of this year, and was put in charge of the network’s cafe, facilities and distribution departments. “They were placing me in this position as a form of punishment for not agreeing to their demands of signing the NDA,” Lamb said in a follow-up interview Friday.
When reached for comment on Lamb’s termination Thursday, Daystar shared an emailed statement. “Jonathan Lamb is no longer a part of Daystar Television Network following his repeated failure to comply with a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) that expired the day before his termination,” according to the statement.
“Jonathan has since engaged in a smear campaign using false allegations against Daystar and its leadership. Based on a clear and documented pattern, it is clear this smear campaign is the result of Jonathan not being designated as the future President of Daystar following the untimely death of Daystar’s founder, Marcus Lamb.”
Marcus and Joni Lamb co-founded Daystar in the 1990s. Marcus Lamb served as CEO until his death in November 2021; Joni Lamb is Daystar’s current president and CEO.
Jonathan Lamb was fired from the company in a termination letter sent on Nov. 16. It highlighted the confidentiality agreement Lamb signed when he joined Daystar, and said that Lamb would be subject to defamation laws if he made “untrue or misleading statements” about Daystar or its leaders.
Lamb and Daystar both shared copies of both the performance improvement plan and the termination letter with The Dallas Morning News.
The performance improvement plan included six points. The third point concerned social media: “Refrain from posting comments in a conversation, text or email or on your or Suzy’s blogs and social media regarding any of the following without first obtaining the written approval of its content from the CEO or a Trustee: (i) your reassignment, (ii) the existence or contents of this Plan, (iii) decisions or actions taken by Daystar leadership on any topic, (iv) the appearance or non-appearance of you or Suzy on programs or broadcasts of Daystar.”
Suzy Lamb is Jonathan Lamb’s wife.
The plan’s fifth point concerned Joni Lamb’s marriage. “You have expressed religious objections relating to the marriage of Doug Weiss to CEO Joni Lamb. As you know, Joni is the CEO of Daystar, and their marriage is legally recognized and has been vetted and affirmed as biblical by credible pastoral counselors.”
Lamb said a rift between him and his mother grew because he had religious objections to her 2023 marriage to Weiss. The Christian Post reported in May that Weiss filed for divorce from his previous wife, Lisa, two months after Marcus Lamb’s death.
Daystar says it has over 100 television stations in the U.S. and is on “nearly every major cable and satellite provider across the globe.” The network is registered as a church, and adheres to a statement of faith that is posted on its website. It airs shows by major evangelical pastors including Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen.
Adrian Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News through a partnership with Report for America.