The Walt Disney Company is under intense media scrutiny following the studio's decision to settle President-elect Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against ABC News for more than $15 million.
Several claims made by anonymous sources in recent reports shed some light on Disney CEO Bob Iger's ultimate decision to avoid a trial and settle with the president-elect.
— Disney executives feared Florida juries would side with Trump after Florida voters overwhelmingly chose him in the November election. One report said such a jury could have awarded him more than the settlement amount. report from new york times.
—Disney lawyers say if the case goes all the way to the Supreme Court, the judges will reconsider the landmark New York Times v. Sullivan decision, which gives news organizations special protection from defamation lawsuits. He said he was concerned that this might happen. wall street journal report.
— George Stephanopoulos — made repeated false claims against Trump. good morning america It sparked an entire legal battle, but sources say he was blindsided by Disney's decision and could soon be leaving the network. variety report.
Taken together, these reports highlight the turmoil within ABC News, where its journalists are at odds with higher-ups at the Disney company for leaking details to other media outlets.
The report made little or no mention of Disney executive Dana Walden, who runs ABC News and is a close personal friend of Vice President Kamala Harris. Mr. Walden was almost certainly involved in some way in the decision to settle with Mr. Trump.
What remains clear is that Disney executives anticipated public backlash against the settlement, but decided it was worth it because they recognized the possibility of losing and wanted to protect the Disney brand.
They also feared that a prolonged legal battle could hurt ABC News' competitiveness during the next four years of President Trump's second term.
George Stephanopoulos repeated false claims against Trump during march good morning america The broadcast incorrectly said several times that the jury found Trump “responsible for rape.” But that wasn't true. The jury found Trump responsible for “sexual abuse.”
Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton operative, repeated the defamatory claims 10 times during the March broadcast.
Some experts have speculated that Disney settled to prevent embarrassing details about ABC News from being revealed during discovery. Mr. Trump and Mr. Stephanopoulos were scheduled to give depositions in the case until a settlement was reached over the weekend.
The settlement, which pays $15 million to Trump's future presidential foundation and museum, plus $1 million in legal fees, was recommended by Disney general counsel Horacio Gutierrez and approved by Iger. Although it was not put to a vote by the company's board of directors, times Reported.
For Disney, this settlement is a drop in the bucket. The studio generated nearly $89 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year.
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