Breaking News: Ron Luce Fires Teen Mania’s Communications Director for Refusing to Lie about Foreclosure

 Yesterday, Teen Mania’s Communication Director officially retracted her statements regarding Teen Mania’s foreclosure. She originally stated the following in a comment on the Charisma News article:

…What has happened to Teen Mania financially is the same as what is happening with untold other ministries, organizations, etc. in these tighter economic times.

…We are being as open as possible with the public about what’s happening. Sure, it’s a sad situation to leave behind a place where we’ve built 17 years’ worth of memories and life-changing ministry. But the decision to move to Dallas is a financially responsible one and frees us up to do even greater ministry than before.

In addition, throughout her tenure as Teen Mania’s Communication Director, Mrs. Mallette has been quite adversarial and rude in her dealings with anyone from the Recovering Alumni community so this 180 degree turnaround is quite surprising.

Just yesterday, she gave an update via her Disquis account on this same comment thread:

I OFFICIALLY RETRACT MY ABOVE STATEMENT. It was made in ignorance of the true nature of Teen Mania’s move to Dallas. I learned the truth in the days after I left the comment. The move was precipitated by a default on the campus’s mortgage. When I learned the truth and confronted Ron Luce about it, he specifically directed me to tell the public, “what I told you to say,” which is basically the statement above.

I still love Teen Mania and support its mission, but I could not support misleading the public. I stayed on for one week more as an attempt to convince Ron to be transparent with the public and, in doing so, tell the truth about the nature of the move and present a practical plan for how the ministry could move forward in a financially responsible way. I was removed from my position as Communications Director on Feb. 12 and fired on Feb. 14.

While this is not the first time a former staff member has exposed Ron Luce’s lies,  it is certainly the most recent and I commend Mrs. Mallette for refusing to spread his lies even at the risk of her job. That demonstrates a very high level of integrity. She joins a long line of recently departed staff members including the former COO, CFO, Director of Honor Academy operations, Director of Global Expeditions Operations, and several long time members of the Board of Directors. In light of this, I think its worth revisiting the words of another former senior staff member:

My issue is with Ron (Luce) specifically. Everyone is a tool, a pawn in his militant attempt to get his vision accomplished. He is militant about the vision, Dave (Hasz) is militant about the vision, and so is anyone who sticks around for any length of time. And, when you fail to dance “good enough” for the king, he just decides you are “not a good fit.” My issue with Ron is that he seems to discard people like toilet paper when they don’t please him—his arrogance knows no bounds (he is right no matter what, and you better fall in line) and he had the compassion of a European dictator. But he’s sociopathic, so he can win anyone over to his side of things… and those that don’t aren’t a “good fit.” I mean, people give up so much to come serve Ron’s vision—lives, careers, friends, income, houses, etc., etc., etc… and when Ron is done with you, you’re out on your butt. I can name multiple people whom this is happened to.

I applaud Mrs. Mallette for her integrity, for retracting her incorrect statements and for apologizing for her tone in her dealings with our community. If only all Teen Mania staff were so bold in embracing the truth, there would be no need for this blog! Make sure to follow the link to read her comments in their entirety. 

And of course, this begs the question – What is the truth about Teen Mania’s foreclosure situation and why is Ron lying about it