Last Friday, publisher Judith Regan settled her $100 million dollar defamation suit filed last November against her former employer News Corporation, parent company of HarperCollins. The terms of the settlement remain confidential, but both parties released a joint statement claiming that the resolution was equitable and that neither party admitted liability.
Regan was fired from HarperCollins in December 2006—and her ReganBooks imprint was eliminated the following month—after News Corp. officials canceled the publisher’s plans to release O. J. Simpson's If I Did It. Around the time of her firing, News Corp. accused Regan of making anti-Semitic comments to a HarperCollins lawyer during a telephone conversation, which influenced Regan’s charge that the company was waging a smear campaign against her.
In a statement made on Friday, News Corp. rescinded the allegations, saying, "After carefully considering the matter, we accept Ms. Regan's position that she did not say anything that was anti-Semitic in nature, and further believe that Ms. Regan is not anti-Semitic." News Corp. called Regan a "talented publisher" and thanked her for her "outstanding contributions" during her twelve-and-a-half-year tenure.
Regan issued a similarly conciliatory statement saying, "I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with so many gifted people and am looking forward to my next venture.
