ABC News star George Stephanopoulos, currently under fire following a stunning defamation settlement with President-elect Donald Trump, has signed a new multi-year deal with the network, ending speculation Good morning America The host could be on his way out.

The Los Angeles Times was the first to report on the Disney-owned network’s deal to retain Stephanopoulos.

Although the timing of the agreement comes as ABC News is facing major backlash over the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit, Stephanopoulos has been negotiating with the network for at least a month over a contract extension that would keep him in office for a few more years.

In his status newsletter last month, Oliver Darcy reported that Stephanopoulos, who earned over $20 million a year, “was offered a deal that will see his salary, like everyone else in the declining television news industry, take a significant discount.” Given the possibility of a lower salary, Darcy also reported that Stephanopoulos may be considering a lighter workload at the station. For some time now, the 63-year-old has only hosted the Sunday public affairs show This week once a month, although the show bears his name as the main host.

An ABC News spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

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The terms of the deal were not made public, a source said diversity that “the length of the extension was shorter than a typical on-air talent pact – which is another sign of the times for the TV news business.” Other high-paid talent across the cable and broadcast news landscape have also had their salaries cut.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, for example, agreed to a new contract extension last month that will pay her $5 million less per year.

Although the contract extension may have been in the works for some time, it was finalized after ABC News generated significant backlash last March for agreeing to pay the president-elect $15 million to settle his defamation lawsuit over Stephanopoulos’ to attach statements. Journalists have described the broadcaster’s “capitulation” to Trump as a “bending of the knee”, while legal experts have warned it could have a “chilling effect” on media and press freedom.

What made matters worse for Stephanopoulos, who vowed after Trump filed his defamation lawsuit that he wouldn’t let it “stop me from doing my job,” was the network’s agreement to issue a statement of “regret” about the host , which claimed Trump had been found. liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll case. (A jury concluded that the new president was responsible for the writer’s sexual abuse, but that his actions did not meet New York’s strict legal definition of rape.) ABC also agreed to pay Trump’s legal team $1 million pay.

Florida federal judge Cecilia M. Altonaga rejected the company’s request to dismiss the lawsuit, saying, “A reasonable jury could interpret Stephanopoulos’ statements as defamatory.” Last week, she then rejected Disney’s request to dismiss the case to postpone, ordered Trump and Stephanopoulos to immediately testify and called on the company to turn over “all remaining documents” related to the case.

Disney responded to the latest setback by entering into settlement talks with Trump, reaching an agreement within a day. Accordingly The New York TimesDisney executives’ concerns “involved multiple considerations,” and the settlement was approved by Disney CEO Bob Iger and General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez.

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“The company feared that a jury in Florida — a deep red state that Mr. Trump carried by 13 points in last month’s election — would side with the president-elect and potentially award him a significant sum over and above costs goes beyond “ruling” the Just reported. “Disney could have appealed, of course, and executives felt the law was on their side. But the appeal process also carries significant risks, Disney’s lawyers concluded.”

The New York Post It was later reported that Stephanopoulos had been repeatedly instructed by an executive producer not to use the word “rape” during the March interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), a revelation that would have come to light as a discovery and may explain why Iger decided to settle.

Stephanopoulos, meanwhile, felt blindsided and “apoplectic” that his network capitulated to Trump and issued a quasi-apology, ABC News insiders and employees said. After the settlement was announced on Saturday, the presenter deleted his account on X, which had 2.3 million followers.

Regardless of the reasons why Disney felt the need to settle with Trump, First Amendment experts are sounding the alarm because it could set a precedent. Especially as the new president steps up his legal threats against news outlets that he says have given him unfair coverage, while billionaire media moguls have signaled they are willing to play nice with him.

“Many in free press circles are holding their breath,” said Roy Gutterman, director of the Tully Center for Free Speech at the Newhouse School The Independent. “There is concern that we are facing frightening times.”