E. Jean Carroll Spending Trump Damages on Shopping Sparks Fury

Some conservatives have responded with anger online after writer E. Jean Carroll joked she'd spend some of the defamation damages money she is due to receive from Donald Trump on shopping and buying a penthouse.

On Friday, the former president was ordered to pay $83.3 million in damages to Carroll after a New York jury concluded he had defamed her. Trump had already been told to pay Carroll $5 million in 2023 after a separate jury concluded he had sexually abused Carroll in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store during the 1990s, then defamed her when she went public with the accusation. Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, labeled the latest verdict "absolutely ridiculous" and said he would appeal.

Appearing on Good Morning America on Monday, Carroll said she'd like to "give the money to something Donald Trump hates" and suggested it could be used for a fund to support other women who allege they were sexually assaulted by the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner.

At least 18 women have previously accused Trump of sexual misconduct, with most making the allegations public before or during Trump's first White House bid. Trump has denied all of the accusations.

Pressing for more details on how she would spend the damages money, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow asked Carroll in an interview on Monday: "You've talked about using some of Trump's money that you're about to get to help shore up women's rights. Do you know what that might be, what that might look like?"

Carroll replied: "Yes Rachel yes! I had such great ideas for all the good I'm going to do with this money. First thing Rachel, you and I are going to go shopping. We're getting completely new wardrobes, new shoes...Rachel what do you want? A penthouse? It's yours Rachel. Penthouse and France? You want France? You want to go fishing in France?"

At this point, a member of Carroll's legal team intervened, commenting: "That's a joke."

The clip was shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Breitbart News politics editor Emma-Jo Morris who added: "(it was never about women's rights)."

The 'Patriot Oasis' account, which has over 81,000 followers on X, also shared the video adding: "Can't WAIT for this appeal!!!"

The account 'Caleb Hull,' a self-styled influencer with 170,000 followers, posted: "Trump just surged in the polls."

Newsweek reached out to Carroll and her attorney Roberta Kaplan at around 5 a.m. ET by email. This story will be updated if either wishes to comment.

However other X users praised Carroll for her MSNBC appearance with one commenting: "That was fantastic! She really is wonderful."

A second added: "She's great. Each week or so she should hold a presser to announce more and more ambitious, and increasingly well advised plans for what to do with the money. Socially popular stuff, so the harder he fights to not pay, the worse he looks."

A third wrote: "Wouldn't it be great if she used some of the money to helper elect Biden?"

Trump won the Republican's Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary earlier this month, making him by some margin the favorite to secure the party's 2024 presidential nomination—with former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley his sole remaining opponent.