George Stephanopoulos and Donald Trump split image
Erik Wemple argued that ABC News and its anchor faced consequences for “standard-issue intransigence by an American media outlet,” expressing surprise at the network’s decision to give in to Trump’s demands so easily.
Puck founding partner Matthew Belloni remarked that the case seemed like “a very winnable case for Disney” until the settlement. He suggested that Disney CEO Bob Iger’s decision might have been influenced by a desire to maintain a cooperative relationship with the incoming administration.
“Stephanopoulos did falsely say Trump was found liable for rape when the jury actually found he was liable for sexual abuse, not rape. But that kind of fleeting error, especially against a public figure like Trump, almost never rises above the high ‘actual malice’ hurdle in defamation cases. And Iger surely knew there would be swift backlash to the settlement, especially now that Trump and his allies are using it to advocate for further attacks on the media,” Belloni said in a discussion with entertainment reporter Kim Masters in his newsletter.
“Trumpworld thinks ABC News is particularly ‘biased’ because of the aggressive fact-checking during its debate and TV chief Dana Walden’s longtime friendship with Kamala Harris,” Belloni added. “That’s a lingering problem for Disney.”
Belloni outlined two leading theories: “the Trump litigation has unearthed potentially damaging information or correspondence at ABC News that Disney doesn’t want revealed” or “this is indeed Iger’s gesture of sorts to Trump to avoid his vengeance and the spectacle of a public trial against a sitting president.”
“I’m in the latter camp,” Belloni stated.
NBC News’ Chuck Todd suggested that the lawsuit might have been dismissed had ABC News not settled.
“Media companies sometimes band together to make sure these suits don’t succeed,” Todd said in an interview with Chris Cillizza. “There is a fear of a slippery slope. This was stunning to me and absolutely a gut punch to anybody that works at a major media company, because I think it sets a precedent that is going to be very difficult to get out from under, potentially.”
While some believe the lawsuit could have been dismissed, several attorneys told Fox News Digital that ABC News made a prudent choice by settling to avoid a potentially embarrassing discovery process.
“We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” an ABC spokesperson said regarding the settlement.
