One America News (OAN) must pay MSNBC $250,000 in legal fees after twice losing an appeal on a defamation lawsuit that centered on comments from host Rachel Maddow, according to Deadline.
The lawsuit stemmed from a 2019 segment in which Maddow allegedly called OAN “paid Russian propaganda.” The website is reporting that Maddow was actually referring to a piece in The Daily Beast.
Nevertheless, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit’s decision said “Maddow’s statement was well within the bounds of what qualifies as protected speech under the First Amendment.”
Maddow is reportedly mulling an exit from the network when her deal expires later this year.
“No reasonable viewer could conclude that Maddow implied an assertion of objective fact,” the opinion penned by Judge Milan D. Smith added (read it here) of the suit OAN filed in the fall of 2020 with great flurry. “The judgment of the district court is therefore affirmed.”
“The context of Maddow’s statement shows reasonable viewers would consider the contested statement to be her opinion.”
