CBS later retracted Logan’s story after it emerged that a source who claimed to have been at the Libyan embassy when the attack occurred, a British security contractor named Dylan Davies, had given false information.
Weeks after the story had aired, Logan publicly apologized on “CBS This Morning” for the “mistake” regarding Davies’s account but noted that key parts of the story remained true.
In it, Logan, who was born in Durban, South Africa, is described as “one of the most experienced and accomplished correspondents in history” and her “investigative skills and reporting are exemplary.”
The lawsuit goes on to claim that Hagan and NY Media “knowingly and recklessly injured” her reputation with a “scandalous article” that “viciously disparaged Logan and severely impugned her skills as an investigative journalist.”
It maintains that Hagan’s article caused her to be “ostracized by colleagues and friends, by her employer, CBS News, Inc., and by its parent, CBS Corporation.”
The suit also claims that the article made light of the “egregious rape and horrific sexual assaults Logan endured” while on assignment for “60 Minutes” in Egypt in February 2011. Logan suffered a brutal gang-rape by a mob of men, which Hagan characterized as a “groping.”
The lawsuit refers to Hagan’s article as “disgraceful, click-bait, sensationalist, egregious misstatements simply to sell magazines,” and claims the magazine and Hagan “had an axe to grind against CBS and its former Chairman and CEO, Leslie Moonves,” who resigned in 2018 amid sexual harassment allegations.
“The headline reference to ‘Bombshell’ was both sexist, insulting, and defamatory at the same time,” the suit states, claiming that “the word was intended to portray Logan as a dangerous and untouchable and incendiary reporter.”
Furthermore, the lawsuit, which refers to the story as the “Hagan Hit Piece,” suggests that the article ultimately led to Logan’s diminished role and eventual departure from “60 Minutes.”
Logan claims she would have earned more in subsequent years if it were not for Hagan’s story and the reaction to it by CBS, which resulted in her becoming a part-time correspondent and her contract being reduced to $750,000.
“But for the Hagan Hit Piece, Logan would have earned more than $2,150,000 per year as a ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent,” the lawsuit claims.
“She was young and extremely talented. She expected to work for CBS indefinitely,” it adds.
Meanwhile, New York Media says it is standing by the story, with a spokeswoman telling The Hill that the article was “thoroughly vetted and fact-checked, and we stand by our reporting.”
