ABC’s “Good Morning America” host George Stephanopoulos has agreed to a brand new contract amid an uproar over the community’s settlement of Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit towards it, shops reported Wednesday.
It was Stephanopoulos’ legally inaccurate “rape” wording to explain a civil verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault go well with towards Trump that prompted the president-elect to sue.
The controversial settlement sparked “speculation about [Stephanopoulos’] future at the network” Deadline wrote in reporting the multi-year contract renewal. It additionally reportedly set off inner pushback on the Disney-owned community for caving within the authorized combat, maybe setting a precedent for different information organizations now threatened by Trump as he returns to the presidency.
The Los Angeles Instances famous that the scores of “Good Morning America” sliding behind NBC’s “Today” was maybe a larger concern to ABC than public backlash over the settlement. At an estimated wage of $20 million a 12 months, Stephanopoulos has offered continuity and journalistic heft for a morning present viewers that may resist change, the newspaper wrote. He’s cohosted “GMA” since 2009.
Selection reported that the contract particulars have been labored out earlier than the defamation payout. The community’s perceived capitulation to Trump had additionally angered Stephanopoulos, based on the commerce publication.
ABC Information didn’t instantly return HuffPost’s request for remark.
Raymond Corridor through Getty Photos
Trump sued ABC Information after Stephanopoulos, on his ABC present “This Week” again in March, instructed Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) that the previous president was discovered accountable for “rape” in his alleged sexual assault on author E. Jean Carroll at a New York Metropolis division retailer within the Nineties. Trump was discovered accountable for “sexual abuse,” however not rape, with the decide later commenting that by definitions outdoors of New York legislation, Trump’s actions could possibly be understood as “rape.”
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In a submitting made public over the weekend, ABC Information conceded it could pay $15 million towards Trump’s presidential library as a part of a settlement.
Trump has vowed to go after information organizations that he believes have handled him unjustly. He sued CBS, alleging it manipulated a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris to forged her in a greater gentle. On Monday he sued the Des Moines Register for a ballot exhibiting Harris forward earlier than he carried the state simply.
