HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- She's the wife of a renowned evangelical pastor and one of the leaders of a Houston megachurch, but Victoria Osteen is being accused of behavior that wasn't very Christian.

Opening arguments were set for Thursday in a lawsuit that accuses Victoria Osteen of assaulting Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown before the start of a 2005 flight from Houston to Vail, Colorado.

The lawyer for Victoria Osteen called the lawsuit silly and denied that her client assaulted Brown. Brown's attorney, Reginald McKamie, said he hopes the trial will show "that celebrity status doesn't take precedence."

Victoria Osteen is co-pastor at Lakewood Church, where her husband, Joel Osteen, preaches and where about 42,000 people flock each week. Joel Osteen's weekly television address is broadcast nationally and internationally.

Brown alleges Victoria Osteen threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her in the left breast during an outburst over a stain on her first-class seat. The Federal Aviation Administration fined Victoria Osteen $3,000 for interfering with a crew member.

Brown wants an apology and punitive damages amounting to 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth as part of her suit.

A 12-person jury was seated Wednesday after lawyers spent several hours questioning a pool of 130 people. The questioning touched on religious beliefs, celebrity and the public's perception of preachers and televangelists.

Many of those in the jury pool said they had been to Lakewood Church and acknowledged holding the Osteens in high regard and being star-struck by them.

But other potential jurors said they didn't like preachers or televangelists and that ministers can lie.

Joel Osteen was at his wife's side Wednesday in court. McKamie said he expected to call the couple as witnesses.

According to an FAA report, Victoria Osteen pushed and elbowed Brown in an attempt to get to the plane's cockpit after two other attendants had not cleaned a liquid on her armrest.

Brown's suit says the flight attendants asked to have Victoria Osteen removed from the plane. Victoria Osteen's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, says his client and her family left voluntarily. The incident delayed the flight about 2½ hours.

Hardin asked that the FAA report's findings not be allowed in the trial, saying the agency's investigation was incomplete. State District Judge Patricia Hancock said she would make a decision later.

Brown had previously said she was attacked in another incident by an airport employee, according to a deposition she gave in the case.

According to court documents, Brown says that she suffers from anxiety and hemorrhoids because of the incident involving Victoria Osteen and said her faith was affected. She is also suing Victoria Osteen for medical expenses for counseling.

Mega-preacher's wife sued over loss of faith - CNN.com

So there you have it, being thrown against a bathroom door and being elbowed in the left breast produces anxiety and hemorrhoids,

What a waste of taxpayer money,

Catfight!...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

If you travel a lot in your work -no matter what kind of work- you get tired of paying good money to not at least have your concerns addressed when you think they are justified. I don't know the circumstances of the spill on the arm rest, but if I had asked repeatedly to have it cleaned (say I was dressed for my next gig and I had to immediately perform or meet the public upon my arrival), I would ask to see someone in charge. Then--picture this-- two waitresses/stewards/secretaries bodily bar my way?
Oh the charges against me would be justified cause somebody's goin' down.


As for net worth. They have no right to know what Osteen's net worth is. She has insurance I'm sure. Let them deal with the insurance company.
Looks like this stewardess is just out to make a buck by scamming. Because she's evidently not very good at her job-which is to see to the passengers needs and give a safety talk once per flight.

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Salty

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A GREAT PLACE TO SHOP

Over the last few years, these flight attendants have become increasingly arrogant and snotty , to the point where even Jesus would have no problem bitch slapping those ass holes. I'm siding with Osteen on this one.

geesh - what airline are you flying? I have found that flight attendants are very friendly and helpful. In this particular instance, it sounds like a real pill trying to make a buck - but for the most part, I've always been happy with the attendants.

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"No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities."
...Christian Nestell Bovee

I thought there were witnesses? I don't think I would have gone with the hemorrhoid defense this early in the case.

3 passengers back Osteen, say they saw no assault

HOUSTON (AP) -- Three airline passengers testified Wednesday they never saw or heard any indication that the wife of megachurch evangelist Joel Osteen assaulted a flight attendant in 2005.

Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown claims in her lawsuit that Victoria Osteen yelled at her, threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her when a spill on the armrest of her first-class seat wasn't quickly cleaned up. Brown claims she suffered physical and psychological injuries.

However, three first-class passengers on the plane testified Wednesday that they never saw or heard anything to indicate that Victoria Osteen assaulted Brown before the start of the flight from Houston to Vail, Colo.

"There wasn't anything that occurred that she could be suing over," said Laura Knoppe, who was sitting in the first row of first-class seats, closest to where Brown said the attack took place.

Knoppe, who was called by Victoria Osteen's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said she never heard Osteen yelling or screaming.

Another passenger, Barbara Shedden, who had been called by Brown's attorney, described the interaction between Brown and Victoria Osteen as "just a power of the wills. It was very authoritative on both parts."

Shedden said Victoria Osteen was out of line by standing in the aisle while she waited for the spill to be cleaned up, but testified she doubted an attack took place.

A third passenger, James Steele, said he never heard any yelling or sounds of a physical altercation.

Earlier Wednesday, Brown's attorney, Reginald McKamie, rested his case.

Brown is asking for an apology and 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth. Osteen's lawyers would not discuss her finances, so it was unclear how much 10 percent would be.

The Osteens paid a $3,000 fine the Federal Aviation Administration levied against Victoria Osteen for interfering with a crew member but testified they did that to put the incident behind them.

They are co-pastors of Houston's Lakewood Church, which draws about 42,000 people each week. His weekly television address is broadcast internationally and his books are sold around the globe.

TBO.com - News From AP

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

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Ecclesiastes 10:2--"A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left."