The Daily Telegraph apologized to first lady Melania Trump on Saturday for publishing an article that included “a number of false statements.”
The British newspaper has also agreed to pay Trump “substantial damages” and legal costs over its Saturday magazine cover story “The mystery of Melania,” from Jan. 19.
“We apologise unreservedly to The First Lady and her family for any embarrassment caused by our publication of these allegations,” the Telegraph said. “As a mark of our regret we have agreed to pay Mrs. Trump substantial damages as well as her legal costs.”
The newspaper detailed the inaccuracies that were included in the piece, written by U.S. author Nina Burleigh, including the claim that Trump cried on the night of the 2016 presidential election. Characterized as an “[e]xplosive new book on the Jackie Kennedy for the Kardashian age” by the Irish Independent, the adapted excerpt was removed from the Telegraph’s website and from others that reproduced the piece.
Calls to Burleigh and publisher Simon & Schuster, which published her October 2018 book, Golden Handcuffs: The Secret History of Trump’s Women, were not immediately returned. The amount Trump received was also not immediately available.
“[W]e have been asked to make clear that the article contained a number of false statements which we accept should not have been published,” the newspaper said. “Mrs. Trump’s father was not a fearsome presence and did not control the family. Mrs. Trump did not leave her Design and Architecture course at University relating to the completion of an exam, as alleged in the article, but rather because she wanted to pursue a successful career as a professional model. Mrs. Trump was not struggling in her modelling career before she met Mr. Trump, and she did not advance in her career due to the assistance of Mr. Trump.”
The Telegraph went on to say it accepted that Trump “was a successful professional model in her own right before she met her husband and obtained her own modelling work without his assistance.”
It also stated that the article incorrectly claimed the Trumps met in 1996, rather than 1998, and that Trump’s mother, father, and sister moved to New York in 2005 to live in Donald Trump’s buildings, which they did not.
“.@FLOTUS often refers to opportunists out to advance themselves by disparaging her name&image. Mrs.Trump will not let people&media outlets make up lies&false assertions in a race for ratings or to sell tabloid headlines. Cc @NinaBurleigh / Simon&Schuster,” Stephanie Grisham, spokeswoman for the first lady, tweeted Saturday.
.@FLOTUS often refers to opportunists out to advance themselves by disparaging her name&image. Mrs.Trump will not let people&media outlets make up lies&false assertions in a race for ratings or to sell tabloid headlines. Cc @NinaBurleigh / Simon&Schusterhttps://t.co/bVOnyZpk7w
— Stephanie Grisham (@StephGrisham45) January 26, 2019
The first lady has successfully sued publications before for publishing false and defamatory information.
In 2017, the Daily Mail, another British news outlet, agreed to pay Trump $2.9 million in damages after publishing a story alleging she worked as an escort in the 1990s.
That year, she also settled a defamation lawsuit against a Maryland blogger who issued an apology and agreed to pay a “substantial sum.”
The article by the blogger, Webster Tarpley, also claimed Trump worked as a “high-end escort” and alleged she suffered a “nervous breakdown” because of the stress of the 2016 presidential campaign.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Nina Burleigh responded to the Washington Examiner after publication of this story. Her statement is included in our subsequent story “Author defends book that led to apology and ‘substantial damages’ for Melania.”
