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EXCLUSIVE – Attorney Stacey Evans, an elected Democrat known for her regular viewership of MSNBC, expressed her dismay over Rachel Maddow’s portrayal of her client in a controversial lawsuit. In a recent interview, Evans described Maddow’s approach as “preposterous” and “disappointing.”
NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News and MSNBC, recently settled a substantial $30 million lawsuit involving Evans’ client, Dr. Mahendra Amin, a gynecologist from Georgia. This case arose from an investigative report that alleged Dr. Amin performed unnecessary hysterectomies on women detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center.
The series of events began with a September 2020 article from NBC News that cited a whistleblower’s claims about Dr. Amin’s medical practices while caring for female detainees at the Irwin County Detention Center. Following this, MSNBC aired multiple reports that referenced the allegations with a derogatory label, dubbing Amin the “uterus collector.”
Among the programs that made this claim were Nicolle Wallace’s “Deadline: White House,” “All In with Chris Hayes,” and “The Rachel Maddow Show.” Nevertheless, Evans believes that it was Maddow, the network’s leading personality, who overstepped in her commentary.
Evans recounted, “It was Rachel Maddow who attempted to connect Dr. Amin’s case to the broader narrative surrounding the mistreatment of immigrants during the Donald Trump administration. She opened her segment by discussing severe topics like child separation policies and referenced a former Trump official who was reportedly tracking women’s menstrual cycles. This connection to Dr. Amin was preposterous and unacceptable.” She voiced her concerns to Fox News Digital.
Evans acknowledged Maddow’s intelligence and hard work as a journalist but criticized the manner in which the network covered the story. “It is disappointing that any media outlet would be so reckless, especially one with such a significant audience,” she stated.
In addition to her legal career, Evans is also a sitting State Representative for House District 57, representing parts of Atlanta. She previously sought the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2018 but lost to Stacey Abrams.
Evans pointed out that MSNBC serves as a default news source for many Democrats, including herself. However, she claims that her experience in handling various defamation cases has made her approach news consumption with heightened scrutiny.
“What they did was egregious. They continued to perpetuate these claims that Dr. Amin was a uterus collector and had conducted mass hysterectomies, despite having evidence on hand that only two hysterectomies had been performed. They were aware of this information,” Evans emphasized.
She reiterated that ICE found those two cases documented in their records to be medically necessary according to their internal procedures. “This serves as a classic example of sensationalism triumphing over the facts,” Evans added.
In a related legal ruling, a judge concluded that multiple statements made by Maddow and other MSNBC hosts could be categorized as “verifiably false” regarding the defamation suit brought by Amin.
Evans, who worked alongside co-counsel Scott Grubman to represent Dr. Amin, suggested that the network’s coverage could have been influenced by its anti-Trump stance during the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. “In internal conversations, Rachel Maddow reportedly expressed some ambivalence during planning sessions, saying, ‘If it’s true, we should go with it, but I don’t want to assume it’s true.’ But shortly thereafter, she approved it for airtime as a top story,” noted Evans, referring to revealed documents.
It was clear that Evans found the conduct of Maddow and her colleagues at MSNBC deeply troubling, particularly as Dr. Amin, an immigrant, faced damaging implications that could ruin his career.
Evans reflected on the rapid escalation of the story, saying, “It is very troubling and very sad. To see a journalist transition from expressing doubt about the accuracy of a report to making it a top story within eight minutes is incredibly disappointing. Tying a private doctor to Trump’s immigration policies so quickly reflects a troubling sensationalism.”
U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood from the Southern District of Georgia had previously ruled that there was sufficient evidence to suggest that a jury could find actual malice. Thus, a trial was scheduled to commence on April 22 in Waycross, Georgia. Following the recently announced settlement, the trial has been canceled.
The judge established that much of the information broadcast by the network had indeed been proven false. This ruling highlighted that there were “no mass hysterectomies or high numbers of hysterectomies performed at the facility,” further asserting that Dr. Amin is not a “uterus collector.”
As of now, MSNBC has not responded to requests for comments regarding the settlement. Similarly, NBCUniversal has not made any public statements about the agreement.
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
