Trump announces he is suing BBC for $5B over 'Panorama' documentary: 'They put words in my mouth'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump announced on Monday, December 15, that he will be filing a $5 billion defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

His decision comes following a 'Panorama' episode that spliced together parts of his January 6, 2021, speech at the "Stop the Steal" rally at the Ellipse.

Trump says BBC probably used 'AI or something'

Trump announced from the Oval Office on Monday, "I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally. They put words in my mouth. They had me saying things that I never said — coming out."

"I guess they used AI or something like that. So, we’ll be bringing that lawsuit. A lot of people are asking, ‘When are you bringing that lawsuit?’ Even the media can’t believe that one," the POTUS added. 

Trump further said, "They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with January 6th that I did not say — and there are beautiful words that I said, right? The beautiful words talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said — they didn’t say that — but they put terrible words."

"They actually have me speaking with words that I never said and they got caught because I believe somebody at BBC said this is so bad it has to be reported. That’s called fake news so we will be filing that suit probably this afternoon or tomorrow morning," he added.

BBC spliced part of Trump's statement with other comments

In October 2024, the BBC took one of Trump’s statements, where he said, "We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women," and spliced part of it with another statement.

The statement of Trump played by the BBC had the president saying, "We’re going to walk down to the Capitol…and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell."

The POTUS told Fox News that his speech was "butchered" by the BBC, and it "defrauded viewers. The British news outlet apologized and agreed it gave "the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action." It also agreed to never re-air the segment again.

However, the BBC did not agree to Trump’s demands for compensation. The president's attorneys had threatened to sue the BBC unless the British media outlet agreed to all of POTUS' terms. 

As per the most recent update, Trump filed the defamation lawsuit against the BBC on Monday night. The civil complaint accuses the BBC of producing a "false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump" in a Panorama documentary aired one week before the 2024 election.