Chef José Andrés and Trump Organization Settle Lawsuit

What we would have given to be a fly on the wall of that conference room…. chef José Andrés and the Trump Organization have settled a multi-million dollar lawsuit and both parties seem happy with the results.

Related: You’ve Never Heard Chef José Andrés Like This

We’ve never wanted to see settlement terms so badly! In case you can no longer keep your Trump Organization lawsuits straight, here’s what happened: José Andrés was slated to open a new restaurant inside the new Trump International Hotel at the Old Post Office Pavilion in Washington D.C. (you know the one that got all that press?).

Anyway, after Trump made ugly, racist comments about Mexican immigrants, José Andrés (who is outspoken about immigration reform), left the project and the Trump Organization sued him for $10 million. José Andrés countersued for $8 million, saying Trump’s comments basically doomed the restaurant (and made it difficult to hire Hispanic staff).

And now, news that the parties have settled. The Trump Organization is now run by Eric and Donald Jr. and Donald Jr. called the settlement a “win-win for both of our companies.” And Andrés went as far as to say, “Going forward, we are excited about the prospects of working together with the Trump Organization on a variety of programs to benefit the community.”

Whhhatttttt? While José Andrés never seemed vitriolic about the suit, at one point saying “Winning has never been about destroying others. It’s about bringing everybody along with you”, we’re somewhat surprised about the cheerful post-suit chatter. After all, José Andrés also said: “If we’re going to do this, I’m going to win this case.”

So obviously, that leaves us wondering, what did José Andrés win? And what did the Trump Organization freely give up? Will there be some joint new community venture announcement: a Trump Organization / World Central Kitchen partnership? Was a donation made in the chef’s name that will make the Trump Organization look great? Are they all besties now?

We’ll never know. At the risk of sounding naïve, we trust José Andrés’ judgement. He’s defended his position and values (values we share) and sought to be a professional and empathetic leader. Two words we can’t apply to just anyone…