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Credit: Inside The MagicOver the years, ABC News has frequently found itself at the receiving end of former President Donald Trump’s wrath. The award-winning studio has been accused of discriminating against Mr. Trump and his allies. Trump supporters have even gotten upset at ABC for not showing the former President enough when he attended a football game.
ABC News has frequently defended itself, its news anchors, and its practices when facing the allegations. The studio has been threatened with lawsuits in the past, but nothing ever came of them — until now.
Back in March, popular Good Morning America news anchor George Stephanopoulos interviewed Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Since the beginning of her career, she has been an outspoken survivor of rape and has shared her emotional story.
So, many people were shocked when Ms. Mace endorsed Donald Trump — who has been found liable for the sexual assault of journalist E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s.
The interview got very heated, with Mr. Stephanopoulos questioning Ms. Mace as to how she could endorse someone who had sexually assaulted someone, since she is a rape survivor.
“You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president,” Stephanopoulos told Mace. “Donald Trump has been found liable for rape by a jury. Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury. It’s been affirmed by a judge—”
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Ms. Mace fought back, accusing Stephanopoulos of trying to shame her for her support of the former President. She said that Mr. Stephanopoulos’s line of questioning is the reason so many women do not come forward to report what happened to them.
Just days after Mr. Stephanopoulos interviewed Ms. Mace, Donald Trump’s legal team filed a lawsuit against ABC News and the legendary news anchor. Mr. Trump sued ABC and Mr. Stephanopoulos for defamation, claiming that Mr. Stephanopoulos made statements during the interview that he knew were “false and defamatory.”
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While Mr. Sephanopoulos did not seem very concerned when the lawsuit was filed, ABC apparently discovered that they might not win if the defamation case went to court.
According to multiple reports, ABC News — which is owned by Disney — has agreed to settle the lawsuit. The company agreed to pay $15 million toward a Presidential fund, and $1 million for Mr. Trump’s legal fees. The $15 million “donation” will most likely go to a fund to help build Mr. Trump’s future Presidential library.
ABC has also agreed to issue a public apology to Mr. Trump.
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“ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024,” Stephanopoulos and ABC News said in a statement.
Stephanopoulos initially appeared unthreatened by Trump’s lawsuit. He told Stephen Colbert in May, “[Mace] famously started her political career… when she was in the statehouse, talking about being a victim of rape. And so, I asked her, as a victim of rape, how she could support someone who a jury has found liable for rape.”
“Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s in fact what did happen,” he also said.”
This is not the first time that Mr. Stephanopoulos has been the center of controversy for his comments. Back in early July, Mr. Stephanopolous was out on a run when he was asked about President Biden.
The person asked Stephanopoulos if he thought President Biden should step down after a disastrous debate against Mr. Trump. Stephanopoulos said that he didn’t think Joe Biden could serve four more years.
Shortly after the video of his answer went viral, Mr. Stephanopoulos released a statement, saying that he should not have commented on the question.
Do you think ABC should have agreed to pay $15 million toward Donald Trump’s Presidential fund? Should they have settled the lawsuit or faced off in court? Share your thoughts in the comments!