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The audacity of E Jean Carroll 

Her lawsuit against Donald Trump was about defamation. But it was also about the worth of a woman, long past middle age, who dared to claim she still had value

    • A New York jury has awarded E Jean Carroll US$83.3 million in her civil trial against Trump.
    • A New York jury has awarded E Jean Carroll US$83.3 million in her civil trial against Trump. PHOTO: AFP
    Published Fri, Feb 2, 2024 · 08:00 AM

    TODAY she is typically described as a former advice columnist – but that term does not really do justice to E Jean Carroll’s career pre-Donald Trump.

    Long before she was one of the longest-serving advice columnists in America, Carroll blazed trails as a gonzo-style journalist The Times once called “feminism’s answer to Hunter Thompson”.

    She profiled Lyle Lovett and went camping with the notorious New York curmudgeon Fran Lebowitz for a cover story in Outside. She wrote a famous piece on Dan Rather for Esquire, appeared in the “Best American Crime Writing”, and was the first female contributing editor at Playboy – back when people really did read it for the articles.

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