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ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos is “apoplectic” and “humiliated” by the network’s decision to pay $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought 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 about 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 Stephanopoulos “is a very guarded person. His circle of trust is so small, and a lot of them don’t work [at ABC anymore].“
The first insider added that the host of “This Week” had recently signed a contract extension with Disney-owned ABC News — though the source did not disclose the terms of the deal.
The former Bill Clinton aide has kept a low profile since the settlement — a $15 million donation to a presidential foundation and museum for Trump and another $1 million for Trump’s attorney fees — was announced on Saturday.
He has deactivated his X account, where he had more than 2.3 million followers.
Some ABC News staffers fumed at management for keeping a tight lid on coverage of the settlement, the first source said.
It was “front page news everywhere yet ABC doesn’t report on itself,” the source lamented.
Three sources told The Post that morale is down after a series of layoffs in all departments..
The settlement “is another gut punch,” one of the people said. “It’s sheer level embarrassment. People are furious.”
The settlement was announced just a day after a judge ruled that Stephanopoulos and Trump had to sit for depositions in the case. The depositions were scheduled for this week.
“This wasn’t a news division decision, it was a company decision,” one of the sources speculated, adding: “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.”
A source with knowledge of the situation told The Post that the $16 million payout is coming from the network’s insurance.
ABC News declined to comment.
Stephanopoulos did not return multiple requests for comment.
Trump filed the defamation lawsuit against ABC News and Stephanopoulos after the newscaster incorrectly noted that the former president “has been found liable for rape by a jury.”
The network and Stephanopoulos released a joint statement on Saturday,
“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,” the statement said.
Last year, a Manhattan jury hearing the civil case brought by Carroll, who has alleged she was raped by Trump decades ago, found the Republican liable for sexual battery and defamation — but not rape.
In a sign that Disney is looking for a reset with the president-elect, Debra OConnell, who oversees ABC News, paid a visit to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump, according to Puck News.
Industry insiders speculated that Disney CEO Bob Iger wanted to put the legal matter to rest before Trump took office because he was fearful 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 that Disney absorbed from its years-long, protracted fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that the Mouse House publicly lobbied against — to no avail.
The Disney boss may also wish to alter the perception that ABC News has an axe to grind with the incoming president — particularly given the fact that one of his top deputies, Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden, has maintained a decades-long friendship with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Trump camp was irked by ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis for their frequent fact-checking of the president-elect during the Sept. 10 presidential debate.