Breitbart News May Settle With Shirley Sherrod -- Finally
More than five years later, it looks like Shirley Sherrod may get some satisfaction from her tormentors at Breitbart News. Politico is reporting that the parties are nearing a settlement in Sherrod's libel suit against Breitbart News for their deceptively edited video which ultimately cost Sherrod her job.
The former Agriculture Department official fired from her job by the Obama administration in 2010 after conservative writer Andrew Breitbart's website accused her of racism has agreed "in principle" to settle her libel claim against Breitbart's estate and one of his business partners, according to a court filing.
Shirley Sherrod sued Breitbart and partner Larry O'Connor in 2011, claiming that they defamed her by publishing an edited version of a speech she gave to an NAACP chapter. Sherrod, who is African-American, said the clips made her sound like she was advocating denying services to white farmers when in fact she was making the opposite point.
As the video clips spread through conservative media outlets, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack quickly fired Sherrod. However, in an awkward reversal, he apologized and offered to rehire her a day later after the full extent of Sherrod's remarks began to circulate. Sherrod declined the offer.