NBCUniversal has reached a settlement after defaming a Georgia doctor by falsely accusing him of conducting mass hysterectomies on illegal immigrants at an ICE detention facility. The $30 million lawsuit, initially set for trial in April, exposed how the network ignored red flags and promoted baseless accusations.
The claims surfaced in 2020 when former nurse Dawn Wooten alleged that detained women were subjected to unauthorized hysterectomies at an ICE facility in Georgia. NBC reporters Julia Ainsley, Jacob Soboroff and Danielle Silva published a story pushing the claims, identifying Dr. Mahendra Amin as the alleged perpetrator. MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace and Chris Hayes then amplified the accusations on national television.
NBC Universal has agreed to settle a $30m defamation lawsuit after its MSNBC talent lied and said a Georgia doctor was performing Mengele-style “mass hysterectomies” at an ICE facility during the first Trump administration.@chrislhayes, Rachel @maddow, Nicole Wallace, and… pic.twitter.com/zLLNcfmUHU
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) February 22, 2025
A Senate subcommittee later debunked the allegations, confirming that Amin had performed only two hysterectomies between 2017 and 2019, both of which were medically justified and approved by ICE. Both patients had also signed informed consent forms before their procedures.
NBC Settles $30M Defamation Lawsuit After Fake News About Doctor At ICE Facilities https://t.co/gIPZoALLB2
— ConservativeLibrarian (@ConserLibrarian) February 24, 2025
Legal documents revealed that NBC executives knew the story had credibility issues before it was published. Internal emails showed Chris Scholl, NBC’s senior deputy head of Standards, initially resisted approving the report, citing the lack of evidence in Wooten’s claims. Another NBC reporter admitted that ICE records would likely disprove the allegations. However, the network moved forward with the story, which was then repeated by some of its biggest hosts.
Judge Lisa Godbet Wood ruled that NBC had made 39 “verifiably false” claims about Amin and found enough evidence to suggest the network acted with “actual malice.” This heightened the legal stakes, leading NBC to settle rather than face a jury trial.
The terms of the settlement remain undisclosed, but the case has reinforced concerns about reckless reporting and the network’s willingness to push a political narrative without sufficient evidence.
