George Clooney Rejects Daily Mail’s Apology

Boy, did the Daily Mail mess with the wrong celebrity.

Earlier this week, the Daily Mail printed a story about George Clooney’s fiancee Amal Alamuddin’s mother objecting to the couple’s marriage on the grounds of religious beliefs. After Clooney publicly denounced the article in an op-ed for USA Today, the Mail pulled said story from their site and issued an apology to the actor, saying their story was “not a fabrication.” But Clooney is having none of that, and is refusing to accept the Mail’s apology.

In a second op-ed published in USA Today July 11, Clooney presses harder and calls the Mail’s apology into question after they mix up their supposedly reliable sources. “Either they were lying originally or they’re lying now,” Clooney writes, adding: “There is one constant when a person or company is caught doing something wrong. The coverup is always worse.”

“They knew ahead of time that they were lying,” Clooney writes, delving into details of the Mail’s mishap. “The Mail knew the story in question was false and printed it anyway. What separates this from all of the ridiculous things the Mail makes up is that now, by their own admission, it can be proved to be a lie. In fact, a premeditated lie.”

He goes on to chide the Mail, calling it “the worst kind of tabloid.”

Over at The Guardian, Clooney is hailed for his bravery in standing up to the British media behemoth:

“Clooney is using his own power and clout to redefine the damaged dynamic that has existed since the days of gossip-columnist hatchet-jobs in old Hollywood,” writes Ryan Gilbey. “Unlike other celebrities who have complained about the tabloids, it is not the attention itself Clooney resents but its fraudulent basis. His objections revolve less around a defense of A-listers than regret over the decline in journalistic standards.”

Read Clooney’s USA Today op-ed in full here.