Jean Carrollwas standing in a U.S. District courtroom in Lower Manhattan, the tea leaves were not auspiciously arranged.
The jury had reached a verdict far too quickly.
Count One: Not liable.
Boy, that was not a good sign, Carroll recalls.
A second jury would later award Carrollan additional $83.3 millionfor emotional and reputational damage.
(Trump is appealing both decisions.)
(Lorne [Michaels] didnt think anything I wrote was funny …
I was Dick in a Box, but I was too soon, she says.)
Today, she is still the only one whose claim has been adjudicated in a court of law.
Carroll talked withRolling Stoneabout beating Trump twice.
Then pretty soon it became, Im in law school.
I dont know what Im going to do after law school.
They learned the importance of things other than their beauty.
What was your mental calculus as you thought about coming forward with your experience with Trump?
And then both my parents died, and that freed me.
I didnt want to hurt them.
It would have killed them.
I thought: This is a possibility.
And then I went on a road trip and got really angry.
I started to think about what happened to me.
Its terrifying, because you worry youll lose your job.
You know hes going to retaliate.
You know theres going to be a threat.
You know all this, you have to take that all into consideration.
Then I met [my lawyer] Robbie Kaplan and told her the story.
And you know what Robbie says?
That is so crazy.
So I was pretty happy with #MeToo.
I thought: Oh, boy, here we go.
That was such a great moment.
Men lost their jobs for the first time.
With the exception: Donald Trump did not.
My getting two federal juries two to hold him accountable was more important than anything.
Are you in touch with any of the other women who have accused Trump of assault?Yes.
What are those conversations like?I wish you could be there.
Theyre not what you think.
Theres a lot of laughing.
Theres a lot of support.
I want to give [the money I was awarded] to everything Trump hates.
We still play poker on Saturday night.
Im working on a book now about the trial.
Its just the joy of waking up and working on the project, and thats it, really.
I kept it cool.
Its not something you think about?No.
Heres what I think: I think I won twice.
Thats what I think about.
