On Monday (January 29), E. Jean Carroll jokingly offered to take MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow on a shopping spree, fully funded by the court-ordered $83 million in damages that former President Donald Trump is expected to fork over from her defamation trial.
Things first began in mid-2019, when E. Jean Carroll filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, accusing him of sexually harming her in late 1995 or early 1996. Trump denied the allegations and was then accused of defaming Carroll by mocking her lawsuit’s allegation. She then filed a second lawsuit in November 2019, suing the then-president for defamation.
In May 2023, Trump was found liable for sexually harming and defaming Carroll, and she ordered him to pay $5 million in damages. Trump appealed the decision and offered an unsuccessful counterclaim. In July 2023, a judge confirmed the jury’s guilty verdict and in September 2023, the judge issued a partial summary judgment regarding the 2019 lawsuit.
On Friday (January 26, 2024), a jury reached a decision in just under three hours and awarded Carroll $83.3 million in additional damages. It was broken down into $11 million for damages to her reputation, $7.3 million for emotional harm and other damages, and $65 million in punitive damages.
Following Friday’s decision, E. Jean Carroll appeared on MSNBC and proceeded to offer anchor Rachel Maddow a Donald Trump-funded shopping spree with her $83 million payout. During the program, she said, “I have such great ideas for all the good I’m going to do with this money. First thing, Rachel, you and I are going to go shopping. We’re going to get completely new wardrobes, new shoes, a motorcycle for [attorney Shawn] Crowley, a new fishing rod for [attorney Roberta Kaplan].”
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Maddow then asked Carroll what she was planning on doing with the money. Carroll said, “Rachel, what do you want? A penthouse? It’s yours, Rachel. You want France? You want to go fishing in France?” After the exchange, Carroll’s attorney Shawn Crowley threw out, “That’s a joke.” After being teased with a shopping spree, Maddow added, “If me fishing in France could do something for women’s rights, I would take the hit. I would obviously take one for the team.”
Maddow also noted that Carroll had previously claimed she would use some of her award money to support women’s rights causes, she had argued that her struggles with Trump represent a battle that many women fight.
Carroll said, “We’re fighting not really for me. It’s now about fighting for all women, and we salute the women and men who have been assaulted and who did not survive. We are doing this for women around the country who have been knocked down repeatedly. So, it’s really not about me anymore. We have moved beyond me, and the fight now is really to take back our future.”
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