Judith Regan Settles With News Corp.

Posted on January 25, 2008

Judith Regan and News Corp have reached a confidential settlement in her $100 million dollar wrongful termination and libel lawsuit against her former employer. No one knows how much Regan got out of News Corp, but the company had to announce that Judith didn't make any anti-Semitic comments and that she is not an anti-Semite.

News Corp. fired Regan in December 2006, alleging that she had made anti-Semitic statements to a company attorney, but said Friday: "After carefully considering the matter, we accept Regan's position that she did not say anything that was anti-Semitic in nature, and further believe that Regan is not anti-Semitic."

The once-rancorous clash between the two sides ended in a series of mutually complimentary statements: News Corp. called Regan a "talented publisher," thanked her for her "outstanding contributions" and wished her "continued success." Regan, in return, said: "I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with so many gifted people and am looking forward to my next venture."

Regan filed her $100-million defamation lawsuit against News Corp. in November, alleging that she had been asked by company officials to lie to federal investigators in order to protect former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's presidential bid.

Regan had also alleged that company officials had orchestrated a "smear campaign" to discredit her after her promotion of a controversial memoir by O.J. Simpson. Regan, who had pushed for the publication of "If I Did It" and also planned to broadcast a TV interview with Simpson, was fired as public outcry mounted.

Judith turned down a prior settlement offer from News Corp, so one assumes that a new, more lucrative offer was eventually put on the table. Neither side admitted liability.

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