NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC and MSNBC, has finalized its settlement agreement with Douglas OB/GYN Dr. Mahendra Amin, who had filed a $30 million defamation suit against the company after several of the network’s personalities falsely referred to Dr. Amin as a “uterus collector” in 2020.
A whistleblower, who was also from Douglas, had alleged that Dr. Amin performed mass hysterectomies on migrant women at the Irwin County Detention Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Ocilla, without the patients’ consent. The allegations were later found to be false. Dr. Amin only performed two hysterectomies at the detention center; both were medically necessary and consented to by the patients.
While NBCUniversal agreed to settle in February, the network and Dr. Amin did not agree on an amount and finalize the settlement then. The two parties have now acquiesced to an amount. However, that figure has not been released.
In September of 2020, a report from a whistleblower surfaced alleging that Dr. Amin performed unnecessary hysterectomies on women who were detained at the detention center. There were other allegations made regarding inadequate COVID-19 protocols and care; however, the hysterectomies are what propelled the story into the national discourse.
Several major news outlets picked up the story, including MSNBC and NBC. In MSNBC reports, Dr. Amin was referred to as a “uterus collector.” On-air show hosts also addressed Dr. Amin using other defamatory language.
Documents also demonstrate that show hosts had concerns about the allegations levied against Dr. Amin but broadcast the allegations anyway. Those hosts were Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, and Chris Hayes.
In July of last year, federal judge Lisa Godbey Wood ruled that MSNBC had aired false accusations against Dr. Amin. The next step in the process would be to determine if the network made its statements with actual malice, which is the second litmus test in deciding if statements are slanderous (spoken) or libelous (written). And that, stated Judge Wood, would be determined by a jury, according to a Fox News report.
With the settlement, such a trial is no longer necessary. If the trial had taken place, it would have been held in Waycross on April 22. Maddow, Wallace, and Hayes would have been called as witnesses.