Fact Check

Did 'The View' Settle with Rittenhouse for $22 Million?

Kyle Rittenhouse has threatened lawsuits against the news media, but there was no pending case involving the ABC talk show.

Published May 26, 2022

 (Twitter screenshot)
Image Via Twitter screenshot
Claim:
The Rittenhouses settled a lawsuit against "The View" for $22 million and a formal apology.

Fact Check

On May 25, 2022, the website USA Taters published an article positing that the ABC television show "The View" had settled a lawsuit brought by Kyle Rittenhouse and his mother, Wendy. In November 2021, the former was acquitted on charges of homicide and reckless endangerment after shooting three men during a riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The terms of the settlement allegedly included a payout of $22 million and a formal apology from "The View":

The View Settles With The Rittenhouses For $22 Million and a Formal Apology

ABC's The View will compose a written apology to Kyle Rittenhouse and his mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, and deliver it along with a check for $22 million. The Rittenhouse's spokesman, Joe Barron, says the settlement didn't take long and "wasn't very difficult."

Apparently, the show's producers have been eager to settle the matter to get them away from all the bad press. In the past few months, story after story about Whoopi Goldberg's suspensions and firings along with reports of more than 11 lawsuits filed have the show's team wondering if it was worth it at all.

There is no truth whatsoever to these claims. USA Taters is part of network of websites and social media accounts called America's Last Line of Defense, which, in a disclaimer, describes the content of its publications as "fiction," "pure fantasy," and "satirical":

Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you're still having an issue with that satire thing.

Rittenhouse has said that he feels he was treated unfairly by the news media and has threatened to file lawsuits against certain media personalities, such as "The View's" Whoopi Goldberg. But as of this writing, there was no pending case involving Rittenhouse and "The View."

In November 2021, another America's Last Line of Defense property, Potatriots Unite, published an article falsely claiming that such a lawsuit had been filed.

David Emery is a West Coast-based writer and editor with 25 years of experience fact-checking rumors, hoaxes, and contemporary legends.