George Stephanopoulos, co-host of “Good Morning America,” isn’t going anywhere despite criticism of the Walt Disney Co.’s decision to settle President-elect Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against ABC News.
According to many sources who were not permitted to speak publicly, Stephanopoulos just agreed to a new multi-year contract to stay with the ABC News morning program.
The deal will likely quell rumblings of any long-term fallout over ABC News’ agreement to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library and $1 million in legal fees to settle a lawsuit over Stephanopoulos’ inaccurate on-air statement that the president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll in 1990s,” The Los Angeles Times reported.
“Stephanopoulos — who is said to earn in the range of $20 million annually — has long provided nutritious news calories to the breezy morning program that he co-hosts with Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan. The network has no apparent successor to Stephanopoulos, who joined “Good Morning America” in 2009. A change in the host chairs can disrupt morning audience viewing habits, which are deeply entrenched,” the outlet added.
Earlier this month, Stephanopoulos and ABC News agreed to pay Trump a hefty fine and apologize to him.
The incident that caused that fine and apology occurred when the anchor had a contentious interview in March with South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, where he accused the president-elect of being a “rap1st.”
You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?” he said to the representative after playing a clip of her talking about her assault.
“Well, I will tell you. I was raped at the age of 16, and any rape victim will tell you- I’ve lived for 30 years with an incredible amount of shame over being raped. I didn’t come forward because of that judgment and shame that I felt, and it’s a shame that you will never feel, George. And I’m not going to sit here on your show and be asked a question meant to shame me about another potential rape victim. I’m not going to do that,” the representative said.
“It’s actually not about shaming you, it’s a question about Donald Trump…,” the anchor said.
“No, you are shaming me,” she hit back.
You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president,” the anchor said.
“Right,” Mace confirmed.
“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. It repeated the…,” the anchor pressed before she shredded him.
“It was not a criminal court case, number one. Number two, I live with shame, and you’re asking me a question about my political choices trying to shame me as a rape victim and find it disgusting,” she said.
“And quite frankly, E. Jean Carroll’s comments when she did get the judgment, joking about what she was going to buy, it doesn’t — it makes it harder for women to come forward when they make a mockery out of rape. When they joke about it. It’s not- it’s not OK,” Mace added.
The president-elect sued for defamation after the interview and on Saturday the parties came to a settlement agreement that includes ABC News and Stephanopoulos paying a whopping $15 million fine as a charitable contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past.”
They will also pay $1 million to cover the president-elect’s attorney’s fees.
ABC News also had to state “regret” along with the story and video of the interview that was published on March 10, 2024.
“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,” it said.
A spokesperson for ABC News said that it was “pleased” that the case had come to a close.
