“Even more troubling is the fact that the Daily Mail acknowledged upfront that they had no proof of Mrs. Trump having been employed as a sex worker.”
Last year, the Daily Mail published a story about First Lady Melania Trump’s modeling career and suggested she was also moonlighting as an escort. The UK newspaper published the story during the elections. Naturally, this sparked rumors, and others quickly began to parrot the outrageous allegations without a shred of proof or corroboration from a reliable source. Mrs. Trump filed a lawsuit against the Daily Mail in the UK and the Mail Online in the US, seeking $150 million in damages. The First Lady agreed to settle for $3 million and an apology from the Daily Mail—where they acknowledged the fact that they had published false information regarding Mrs. Trump.
It’s completely irresponsible for newspapers—if the Daily Mail can be considered such—to publish such salacious rumors without an ounce of credible evidence to back up their claims. Even more troubling is the fact that the Daily Mail acknowledged upfront that they had no proof of Mrs. Trump having been employed as a sex worker. The modeling industry is fraught with objectification of models and preconceived notions that they’re also on sale to the highest bidder. I find it reprehensible for the Daily Mail to fuel the idea that women who work in the fashion/modeling industry are also prostitutes. This idea seems to have waned over the years, but the Daily Mail brought it back to the forefront by falsely accusing Mrs. Trump of being a sex worker.
Making the connection between modeling and prostitution is very sexist and offensive. Even a liberal audience of women will defend Melania’s previous career as a model when attempts are made to discredit President Donald Trump by citing photographs she had taken in her modeling days. It’s an incredibly low blow and sets women back decades in terms of equality in the work place. Women have fought to get this far professionally and are still finding stigma attached to certain jobs.
The Daily Mail severely compromised the First Lady’s image and integrity. These published allegations led to rumors and even an incident that sparked nationwide outrage when a New York Times reporter was heard referring to Melania as a “hooker.” It’s understandable for the media to investigate, report, and do what they do, but the constant mudslinging and downright lies corrupt the field of journalism. The Daily Mail quite literally epitomized fake news at its finest. In their public apology, which can be found online, the publication stated, “We accept that these allegations about Mrs. Trump are not true and we retract and withdraw them. We apologize to Mrs. Trump for any distress that our publication caused her.” The statement also mentioned another claim made by the Daily Mail that President and Mrs. Trump may have met three years before they actually did and staged the actual meeting as a ruse. If you ask me, the Daily Mail got off easy for this disgusting behavior.
