Stephanopoulos ‘humiliated’ over $15 million ABC defamation settlement with Trump after making false rape claims: report

The settlement agreement, which Stephanopoulos, Trump and ABC's executives agreed to, set conditions such that ABC News would pay $15 million towards Trump's presidential museum, pay $1 million for Trump's attorney fees, as well as issue an apology statement, saying, "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."

Stephanopoulos, for his part, is reportedly "apoplectic" as well as "humiliated" by the network's decision to go through with the settlement, according to a source with knowledge of the situation who spoke to the New York Post. He is said to be especially angered over being forced to apologize. Another source told the outlet that "George is defiant" over the settlement. A third added, "[Stephanopoulos] is a very guarded person. His circle of trust is so small, and a lot of them don’t work [at ABC anymore]."

Although Stephanopoulos has been reportedly angered over ABC's decision on the settlement with Trump, he has still signed a contract extension with the Disney-owned network. Stephanopoulos, who was an aide for former President Bill Clinton, deactivated his X account amid the controversy of the settlement.

The settlement from ABC News has not only left a poor taste in the mouth of the news anchor, but also many others staffing the news outlet as well. One employee lamented to the Post, "It's front-page news everywhere, yet ABC doesn't report on itself."

Morale is reportedly low after layoffs have also swept multiple departments at ABC. One source told the Post that the settlement is "sheer level embarrassment" for the outlet and added that "people are furious" about it.

"This wasn’t a news division decision, it was a company decision,” one source speculated to the Post. “They likely didn’t want to go through discovery, when you search all the documents and all the emails and find everything that’s said, and turn it over to the other side."