Fox News settles Dominion lawsuit for $787.5m after 'admitting it peddled Trump's 2020 election lies'
18 April 2023, 21:39 | Updated: 18 April 2023, 21:42
Fox News and voting machine company Dominion have settled a lawsuit for $787.5m - after the broadcaster was sued for propagating Donald Trump's 2020 election lies.
The trial, which was due to begin on Tuesday, had already led to several embarrassing disclosures for the right-wing station - including that its most-popular host Tucker Carlson did not believe in the lies that Donald Trump had won re-election but still perpetuated it.
Opening arguments had been due to begin in the hotly-anticipated case tomorrow.
In a statement reported by the New York Times, Fox said it was "pleased" to have reached a settlement with Dominion and admitting that they had made claims against Dominion which were not true.
The controversial broadcaster added: "We acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.
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"We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues."
Dominion's lawsuit alleged that Fox "sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process".
The settlement brings to an end one of the most high-profile media cases in decades - and will spare Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch further damaging disclosures.
It comes after a friend of his ex-wife Jerry Hall said the billionaire announced he wanted a divorce last year in just 11 words over email.
A friend of Ms Hall said she was absolutely "blindsided" by Mr Murdoch's email saying he wanted a divorce.
According to the source who spoke to Vanity Fair, the pair had "never fought" prior to their split and Jerry had done her best to support the media tycoon through his several illnesses over the years.
The couple were together for seven years before Mr Murdoch reportedly gave his ex-wife 30 days to vacate the Californian mansion they shared.
The brutally-worded email read: "Jerry, sadly I’ve decided to call an end to our marriage.
Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall were married for seven years before the 92-year-old decided to call it quits last year.
The media mogul split from Jerry Hall suddenly in June 2022, marking the end of a seven-year marriage to his fourth wife.
As part of their divorce settlement, Ms Hall has been banned from giving writers of TV show Succession - which is loosely based on the Murdoch family - any ideas for future episodes.
Details of the pair's divorce emerges just weeks after the 92-year-old both announced and called off his fifth ever engagement, to Ann Lesley Smith, in the space of just two weeks.
Speculation has circulated about Mr Murdoch's decision to end the engagement so abruptly, with most reports pointing to his increasing discomfort with Ms Smith's "outspoken evangelical views".
Before the pair announced the end of their engagement, the billionaire revealed he "dreaded falling in love" but had decided the now-called off marriage would be his "last" ever relationship, in an interview with the New York Post.
