The Daily Mail has apologized and agreed to pay Melania Trump a reported $2.9 million in damages to settle two lawsuits she filed after the publication republished stories that alleged she was an escort in the 1990s.
In September, the first lady accused the Daily Mail of making false and defamatory statements after it published a story titled “Racy Photos, and Troubling Questions About His Wife’s Past that Could Derail Trump” that was based on a report from a magazine in Slovenia. Melania was seeking $150 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
The Daily Mail apologized for the story Wednesday.
“We accept that these allegations about Mrs. Trump are not true and we retract and withdraw them,” a lawyer for the publication said.
“We apologize to Mrs. Trump for any distress that our publication caused her. To settle Mrs. Trump’s two lawsuits against us, we have agreed to pay her damages and costs.”