NEW YORK _ Former Playboy model Karen McDougal has reportedly been released from a contract with American Media Inc. that prevented her from discussing an alleged affair with President Donald Trump.
The settlement agreement, reached Wednesday, ends a lawsuit McDougal brought against the tabloid news company, which owns The National Enquirer, according to The New York Times.
In August 2016, American Media purchased the rights to McDougal's story about Trump but never published it, in a tabloid maneuver known as "catch and kill."
McDougal alleged in her lawsuit that American Media chairman and Trump ally David Pecker tricked her into signing the contract through which McDougal earned $150,000. She also alleges that Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, improperly intervened in the negotiations.
The settlement agreement states that American Media is entitled to up to $75,000 of any profits McDougal makes from her story about the alleged affair.
McDougal can keep the original $150,000 payment under the terms of the agreement, according to her lawyer, Peter Stris.
"It's a total win," Stris said in an interview. "We got everything we were fighting for _ she got out of the contract, gets the life rights back and owes A.M.I. nothing more."
McDougal said she has no immediate plans to sell her story to a new buyer.
"It's one step at a time for me," she said. "Today, I'm doing my victory dance."
