Daily Mail to pay US first lady for libel
Compensation of Dh11m for claims she was an escort
LONDON // Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper yesterday apologised to America’s first lady, Melania Trump, and agreed to pay her damages over an article that included allegations that she worked as an escort in the 1990s.
“The defendant is here today publicly to set the record straight and to apologise to the claimant for any distress and embarrassment that the articles may have caused her,” said Catrin Evans, the paper’s lawyer.
Although the total amount of damages was not disclosed, it is believed to be about US$3 million (Dh11 million).
John Kelly, Melania Trump’s lawyer, said the article in the Daily Mail, published in August last year, included false and defamatory claims.
The allegations “questioned the nature of her work as a professional model and republished allegations that she provided services beyond simply modelling”, he said. Her spokeswoman and Paolo Zampolli, who ran the modelling agency where she worked, denied the allegations, which her lawyer said struck at the heart of her integrity and dignity.
Mrs Trump’s lawyers launched the lawsuit in September, asking for US$150 million in damages.
The paper had already published a retraction in September, saying it did not intend to state or suggest that these allegations were true.
The US first lady said that because of the allegations, she had missed out on “multiple millions of dollars” in licensing, marketing and endorsement opportunities for her brand, which would otherwise have been available to someone spending time as “one of the most photographed women in the world”.
She said the publication had prevented her from reaping the fruit of being a business lady married to a new US president. The tabloid published an apology on its website after the court hearing.
The statements, apologies and payouts settle the British and US lawsuits.