For more than a decade, thousands of women sued Johnson & Johnson, claiming that its baby powder caused them ovarian cancer. The company never admitted it. But on Monday, July 27, 2026, it announced something that says more than any apology: it will pay $5.5 billion to settle the case.
The settlement covers about 76,000 lawsuits, nearly 99.75% of all pending claims in the United States. Erik Haas, the company’s worldwide vice president of litigation, defended its longstanding position: the talc was safe and contained no asbestos. Even so, J&J had already withdrawn the product from the United States and Canada in 2020, and from the entire world in 2023.
The initial payment, of up to $3 billion, will not arrive until 2027. Earlier, in 2025, a judge had already rejected a similar $9 billion proposal. Now, at least 95% of the plaintiffs must accept the deal and a New Jersey judge must approve it. Is it justice, or merely the price of silencing the scandal?
