ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos is “apoplectic” and “humiliated” by the network’s decision to pay $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by President-elect Donald Trump, The Post has learned.
Stephanopoulos, who claimed Trump had raped E. Jean Carroll during an interview with Republican lawmaker Nancy Mace, was particularly upset at being forced to apologize, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
Another source told The Post that “George is defiant.”
A third source said that Stephanopoulos “is a very guarded person. His circle of trust is so small and many of them don’t work [at ABC anymore].”
The first insider added that the “This Week” host recently signed a contract extension with Disney-owned ABC News — though the source did not disclose the terms of the deal.
The former aide to Bill Clinton has kept a low profile since the deal — a $15 million donation to a Trump presidential foundation and museum and another $1 million for Trump’s attorney fees — was announced Saturday.
He has deactivated his X account, where he had more than 2.3 million followers.
Some ABC News employees were angry with management for keeping coverage of the settlement tight, the first source said.
It was “front page news everywhere, but the ABC doesn’t report itself,” the source complained.
Three sources told The Post that morale is down after a series of layoffs across departments.
The settlement “is another punch to the gut,” one of the people said. “It’s a big embarrassment. People are angry.”
The settlement was announced just one day after a judge ruled that Stephanopoulos and Trump had to sit for depositions in the case. Depositions were scheduled for this week.
“This wasn’t a news-sharing decision, it was a company decision,” one of the sources speculated, adding: “They probably didn’t want to go through the disclosures, when you go through all the documents and all the emails and find everything .that’s said and turn it the other way.”
A source with knowledge of the situation told The Post that the $16 million payment comes from the network’s insurance.
ABC News declined to comment.
Stephanopoulos did not return multiple requests for comment.
Trump filed a defamation suit against ABC News and Stephanopoulos after the news broadcaster falsely noted that the former president was “found guilty of rape by a jury.”
The network and Stephanopoulos released a joint statement on Saturday,
“ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements about President Donald J. Trump made during an interview George Stephanopoulos made with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024,” the statement said.
Last year, a Manhattan jury hearing the civil case brought by Carroll, who has claimed she was raped by Trump decades ago, found the Republican liable for sexual assault and defamation — but not rape.
In a sign that Disney is seeking a reset with the president-elect, Debra O’Connell, who oversees ABC News, made a visit to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump, according to Puck News.
Industry insiders speculated that Disney CEO Bob Iger wanted to wrap up the legal case before Trump took office because he feared it would affect other departments in the company’s portfolio that are subject to government regulation.
Iger is also said to be mindful of the reputational damage Disney took from his long and drawn-out fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that the House of Mouse lobbied against — to no avail.
The Disney chief may also want to change the perception that ABC News has an ax to grind with the incoming president — especially given the fact that one of his top deputies, Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden, has held a decades-long friendship with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Trump camp was chastised by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis for frequently fact-checking the president-elect during the Sept. 10 presidential debate.
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