L.A. Times admits false claim about Falwell

A column by a rabbi published in the Los Angeles Times falsely asserted Rev. Jerry Falwell claimed lesbian actress Ellen DeGeneres played a role in the 9-11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina because she was the host of the Emmy Awards before both events.

The Times ran a correction explaining the Baptist minister "made no such claim."

In the Dec. 18 column, Rabbi Stephen Julius Stein wrote:


We've all heard about the rise of the evangelical movement and about some of the excesses of its leaders. For instance, the Rev. Jerry Falwell claimed that Ellen DeGeneres played a role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina because she was the host of the Emmy Awards ceremony preceding both events. I only wish the situation was just comical. But when we realize how this movement has saturated the fabric of American culture, we cannot � we must not � remain indifferent to its effect on us, to our neighbors of other faiths and to the essence of what still makes this country a beacon of democracy to the world.
Stein is a rabbi at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and vice president of the Wilshire Center Interfaith Council.

The Times' correction Sunday said the column was "defending the separation of church and state."