President Trump filed a bombshell $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC over manipulated footage from January 6.
The legacy media went into damage control mode.
And Greg Gutfeld just exposed one fact about Trump's BBC lawsuit that the media won't admit.
Gutfeld calls out media hypocrisy over BBC's deceptive editing
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld unleashed on the media establishment during "Gutfeld!" after President Donald Trump sued the BBC for $10 billion over deliberately misleading edits to his January 6, 2021 speech.
The BBC spliced together clips from Trump's speech that were 54 minutes apart to make it appear he called for violence when he actually urged peaceful protest.
"So they removed 54 minutes from the event with editing like that, you can make The View watchable," Gutfeld quipped.¹
The documentary "Trump: A Second Chance?" aired one week before the 2024 election, showing Trump 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 BBC deliberately cut out where Trump urged supporters to protest "peacefully and patriotically."
The British broadcaster has apologized for what it called an "error of judgment," and both BBC Director General Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness resigned in November.
But Gutfeld wasn't buying it.
Media companies fear discovery more than losing cases
Gutfeld pointed out the real reason Trump's lawsuits have been so effective against media companies like ABC and CBS.
"Trump doesn't care. This isn't about winning $10 billion. If Trump wanted cash, he'd hold Elon Musk upside down over a toilet bowl," Gutfeld said. "This is about exposing a crooked media regardless of where they are in the world."²
The Fox News host explained that media companies don't fear losing these cases in court.
They fear what comes before that.
"Because media companies didn't fear losing cases. They fear, discovery, depositions, sworn testimony, producers explaining under oath why the nurse at The View is a veterinarian," Gutfeld explained.²
Discovery is the legal process where both sides hand over internal documents, emails, and communications.
For media companies that spent years coordinating narratives and selectively editing footage, discovery means exposing their editorial decisions under oath.
ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit with Trump in December 2024 for $15 million after anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely claimed Trump had been "found liable for rape."
CBS parent company Paramount settled for $16 million in July over deceptively edited footage of a Kamala Harris "60 Minutes" interview.
Both companies folded before discovery could reveal their internal deliberations about how to cover Trump.
Trump exposes media's medieval mindset
Gutfeld, who worked in British media as the editor of Maxim magazine in the U.K. from 2004 to 2006, understands the BBC's taxpayer-funded model better than most American commentators.
"BBC is a global media empire funded by taxpayers who can't opt out. And what did they do with that power? Objective journalism? Balance?" Gutfeld said before pausing for effect. "No. They did what elite media always does. They sprint hard Left, panic when Trump shows up, then call it public service."²
The Fox News host framed Trump's lawsuit as part of a larger battle between accountability and immunity.
"This lawsuit isn't just Trump versus the BBC, it's accountability versus immunity. For decades, legacy media operated like medieval clergy, unquestionable, untouchable and furious when the peasants started asking questions," Gutfeld argued.²
Trump filed the lawsuit in federal court in Florida, claiming violations of both defamation law and Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The BBC has indicated it will fight the case, though legal experts note the network faces an uphill battle explaining why producers needed to splice together footage from nearly an hour apart.
British media is already speculating about what internal emails might emerge if the case reaches discovery.
"You don't get to manipulate footage, interfere in an election, and cry oppression when someone says, OK, prove it under oath," Gutfeld concluded.²
¹ Greg Gutfeld, "Gutfeld: Trump's Lawsuit Against BBC Is About Accountability vs. Immunity," Fox News, December 18, 2025.
² Ibid.
