NBCUniversal has reached a settlement in a high-profile defamation case after falsely accusing a Georgia doctor of performing unauthorized hysterectomies on women held in an ICE detention center. The $30 million lawsuit, which was expected to go to trial in April, exposed how the network ignored red flags and broadcast baseless claims.
The lawsuit stemmed from a 2020 NBC report based on accusations from former nurse Dawn Wooten. NBC reporters Julia Ainsley, Jacob Soboroff and Danielle Silva published an article painting Dr. Mahendra Amin as a “uterus collector,” claiming he conducted unnecessary procedures on ICE detainees. MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace and Chris Hayes repeated these allegations, further spreading the false narrative.
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 discredited the claims, confirming that Amin had only performed two hysterectomies between 2017 and 2019, both of which were medically justified and approved by ICE. Additionally, both patients signed informed consent forms, contradicting the accusations NBC promoted.
NBC Settles $30M Defamation Lawsuit After Fake News About Doctor At ICE Facilities https://t.co/gIPZoALLB2
— ConservativeLibrarian (@ConserLibrarian) February 24, 2025
During the lawsuit, internal NBC emails revealed that network executives and reporters had serious doubts about the credibility of Wooten’s claims. Chris Scholl, NBC’s senior deputy head of Standards, initially opposed publishing the story, noting Wooten “provides no evidence to back up her claims.” One NBC reporter even admitted that ICE records would likely undermine Wooten’s accusations. Despite these concerns, the network published the story and continued promoting it on air.
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,” a key requirement for defamation lawsuits.
While the details of the settlement remain undisclosed, NBC’s willingness to settle before trial suggests the network sought to avoid further public scrutiny over its reporting practices.
