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Who is E Jean Carroll? Why did she sue Donald Trump?
E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit stems from her 2019 book, in which she detailed her alleged encounter with Trump
E Jean Carroll is a 79-year-old American journalist, author, and former advice columnist for Elle magazine. She is currently involved in two defamation lawsuits against former US President Donald Trump, who she accused of sexually assaulting her in the department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Carroll was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University, where she was crowned Miss Indiana University and Miss Cheerleader USA. She moved to New York and became a successful writer for tier-one magazines such as Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Playboy. She also wrote for Saturday Night Live and hosted a TV talk show, ‘Ask E Jean’.
In 1993, she started writing the ‘Ask E Jean’ column for Elle, which became one of the longest-running advice columns in American publishing. She was known for her witty, irreverent, and feminist style, as well as her compassion for her readers. She was reportedly fired from Elle in 2020, after she sued Trump for defamation.
All about the E Jean Carroll vs Donald Trump lawsuit
Carroll’s lawsuit stems from her 2019 book, What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal published by New York magazine, in which she detailed her alleged encounter with Trump in a department store dressing room in Manhattan in 1996. She claimed that the former president raped her and then threatened her to keep quiet. She also accused other public figures, such as former CBS CEO Les Moonves, of sexual misconduct.
Trump denied ever meeting Carroll and called her a liar who was trying to sell her book. ‘I’ve never met this person in my life. She is trying to sell a new book – that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section,’ he said.
After Trump's comment, Carroll sued him for defamation, saying he damaged her reputation and caused her emotional distress.
In May 2023, a jury in New York found Trump liable for defamation and sexual abuse and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. Trump appealed the verdict, and the case is still pending. Carroll also filed a second defamation lawsuit against Trump in federal court, seeking more than $10 million in damages.
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The trial began in January 2024, but Trump left the courtroom before Carroll’s lawyer’s opening statement. The jury will only decide the amount of damages, not the facts of the case.
Carroll has said she is not afraid of Trump and that she wants to hold him accountable for his actions. She has also said she hopes her case will inspire other women to speak out against sexual violence.
