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Did ivana trump say Donald trump raped her
Executive summary
Ivana Trump said in a 1990 divorce deposition that she had referred to a 1989 sexual episode with Donald Trump as “rape,” but she later clarified she did not mean the word “rape” in a literal or criminal sense and publicly disavowed the allegation [1] [2]. Reporting and timelines from The Guardian, PBS, Time, The Independent and other outlets trace the original deposition, the 1993 book that published it, and Ivana’s later statements walking the wording back [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. What Ivana actually said and where it appears
Harry Hurt III’s 1993 book Lost Tycoon published material from Ivana’s 1990 divorce deposition in which she recounted a violent 1989 episode and quoted herself as saying she had “referred to this as a ‘rape’,” while also describing feeling “violated” [7] [2]. Multiple outlets and timelines cite the deposition passage and the book’s reporting as the origin of the claim that Ivana had accused Donald Trump of rape [3] [8].
2. Ivana’s later clarifications and disavowals
Ivana later issued statements and interviews saying her use of the word “rape” was not meant “in a literal or criminal sense,” and at times called the resurfaced stories “totally without merit,” describing the language as part of a tense divorce period and “lawyers' talk” [1] [5] [6]. News reports note she “walked back” the description well before it became a widely cited allegation in the 2010s [5] [9].
3. How news organizations have presented the episode
Major news outlets and compendia of allegations present Ivana’s deposition as one source among many accusations against Donald Trump, generally reporting both the deposition language and Ivana’s subsequent clarifications: PBS summarized that Ivana “charged that Trump ‘violated their bond of love’” but had described the word “rape” figuratively and disavowed a literal criminal accusation [4]. The Guardian’s timeline likewise quotes her deposition language and the phrase that she “referred to this as a ‘rape’” [3].
4. Disagreement and legal context noted in reporting
Coverage emphasizes that Ivana’s wording has been interpreted differently over time: some reporters and the book describe the deposition as alleging a violent assault, while Ivana’s later statements softened or recanted the literal criminal framing. Sources also place her account amid other women’s allegations against Donald Trump, showing contested interpretations rather than a single, undisputed legal finding [7] [10].
5. What these sources do not show
Available sources do not report any criminal charge or conviction arising from Ivana’s 1989/1990 account; they document a deposition, the book’s publication of it, and her later clarifications, not a police prosecution or court finding of rape based on her statements [2] [1]. If you are asking whether Ivana’s deposition resulted in criminal proceedings, not found in current reporting.
6. Why journalists treat this episode carefully
Reporters include Ivana’s original deposition wording because it is part of the public record as cited in Lost Tycoon, but they also include her subsequent statements disavowing a literal criminal meaning; that balance explains why headlines sometimes say she “accused” him and other times emphasize she later “walked back” or clarified the term [7] [5] [4]. Fact-checking outlets and timelines place the episode in context with other allegations and Trump’s denials [11] [12].
7. Takeaway for readers evaluating claims
The most accurate summary supported by the cited reporting is: Ivana used the word “rape” in a 1990 deposition describing a 1989 incident, that deposition was publicized in a 1993 book, and Ivana later clarified she did not intend the word in a literal or criminal sense and called the resurfaced reports “without merit” [2] [7] [5]. Different outlets emphasize different parts of that sequence; readers should note both the original deposition quote and Ivana’s later disavowal when assessing headlines that assert she “said Donald Trump raped her” [1] [6].