E. Jean Carroll feels 'fantastic' after Trump verdict: 'The happiest day of my life'


E. Jean Carroll, the writer who accused Donald Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s, said she feels "fantastic" after a jury voted to hold the former president liable for sexual assault and defamation in her lawsuit against him.
"Yesterday was probably the happiest day of my life," Carroll told Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos in a Wednesday interview. On Tuesday, a New York City jury ruled that while Trump did not rape Carroll, he sexually abused and also defamed her when he denied her claims. She was awarded $5 million in damages.
Originally, Carroll told Stephanopoulos she had planned to simply come forward with her story and "thought that was enough." But then Trump "said terrible things about me. Dragged me through the mud. Ground my face in the dirt. It was horrible." So she talked to a lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, and together, the two brought a lawsuit against him. "It was this 5-foot-3, wily, female attorney and this elderly, 79-year-old advice columnist who are finally holding Donald Trump liable," she continued.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Carroll added that she was "shaken" throughout the trial, during which Trump declined to testify, "but I felt strong because I knew I was telling the truth and I just stuck to it."
Shortly after it was announced, the former president decried the ruling in a post on Truth Social: "I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace — a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!" The jury's decision marks "the first time a former president has been found civilly liable for sexual misconduct," per NBC News.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
America's favorite fast food restaurants
The Explainer There are different ways of thinking about how Americans define how they most like to spend their money on burgers, tacos and fried chicken
-
Law: The battle over birthright citizenship
Feature Trump shifts his focus to nationwide injunctions after federal judges block his attempt to end birthright citizenship
-
The threat to the NIH
Feature The Trump administration plans drastic cuts to medical research. What are the ramifications?
-
Law: The battle over birthright citizenship
Feature Trump shifts his focus to nationwide injunctions after federal judges block his attempt to end birthright citizenship
-
The threat to the NIH
Feature The Trump administration plans drastic cuts to medical research. What are the ramifications?
-
Courts try to check administration on deportations
Feature The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to end protected status for Venezuelans, but blocks deportations under the Alien Enemies Act
-
House GOP pushes ahead on deficit-boosting tax bill
Feature Republicans push a bill that will lock in Trump's tax cuts, cut Medicaid and add trillions to the national debt
-
'Gen Z has been priced out of a future, so we invest in the present'
instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Donald Trump's foreign policy flip in the Middle East
Talking Point Surprise lifting of sanctions on Syria shows Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar are now effectively 'dictating US foreign policy'