NBC Universal has agreed to settle a federal defamation lawsuit filed by a Georgia gynecologist over coverage of allegations that he performed mass hysterectomies on female detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. The stories aired in September 2020 on MSNBC shows hosted by stars Nicolle Wallace, Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow.
U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood ruled in June that “the undisputed evidence establishes that multiple NBC statements are false.”
She found “there were no mass hysterectomies or high numbers of hysterectomies at the facility,” contrary to the allegations from a whistleblower; that Dr. Mahendra Amin, the plaintiff in the case, had performed only two hysterectomies on female detainees; and that he was not a “uterus collector,” in the whistleblower’s memorable phrase.
Judge Wood noted that the network was not protected by the fact that MSNBC’s journalists were relaying what the judge called “verifiably false” statements by others rather than asserting them on their own authority. The whistleblower’s complaint had been filed by a coalition of progressive advocacy groups.