On Monday, The Daily Mail published a story about George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin and how Amal’s mom didn’t care for George because, as the Mail’s sources claimed, George is not Druze. The article’s sources claimed that Amal comes from a close-knit Druze family and that her mom wanted her to marry within the Druze clan. Less than 48 hours, George sent out a lengthy statement/open letter bashing The Mail’s story as journalistic malpractice and claiming that the Mail had gotten everything wrong. The Mail deleted the story and published this apology to George:
On Monday MailOnline carried an article which alleged that the mother of George Clooney’s fiancée Amal Alamuddin would prefer her daughter to be married to a member of the Druze religious group. Yesterday Mr Clooney said the story was ‘completely fabricated’ and exploited ‘religious differences where none exist.’
In a statement MailOnline said: ‘The story was not a fabrication but supplied in good faith by a reputable and trusted freelance journalist. She based her story on conversations with a long standing contact who has strong connections with senior members of the Lebanese community in the UK and the Druze in Beirut. We only became aware of Mr Clooney’s concerns this morning and have launched a full investigation.
‘However, we accept Mr Clooney’s assurance that the story is inaccurate and we apologise to him, Miss Amal Alamuddin and her mother, Baria, for any distress caused. We have removed the article from our website and will be contacting Mr Clooney’s representatives to discuss giving him the opportunity to set the record straight.’
I thought that was interesting. Like, the Daily Mail says that they did have legit sources on the story and they have faith in their reporter but they’re withdrawing the story and offering an apology. It wasn’t the reaction I was expecting from the DM. Still, controversy over? Not so much. George has issued another statement to USA Today. This is totally bigger than Watergate.
There is one constant when a person or company is caught doing something wrong. The coverup is always worse. In this case, the Daily Mail has printed an apology for insinuating religious tensions where there are none. In the apology, managing editor Charles Garside claims that the article was “not a fabrication,” but “based the story on conversations with senior members of the Lebanese community.”
The problem is that none of that is true. The original story never cites that source, but instead goes out of its way to insist on four different occasions that “a family friend” spoke directly to the Mail. A ” family friend” was the source. So either they were lying originally or they’re lying now.
Furthermore, they knew ahead of time that they were lying. In an article dated April 28, 2014, reporter Richard Spillett writes in the Mail that “Ramzi, (Amal’s father), married outside the Druze faith,” and a family friend said that “Baria, (Amal’s mom), is not Druze.” 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.
So I thank the Mail for its apology. Not that I would ever accept it, but because in doing so they’ve exposed themselves as the worst kind of tabloid.
One that makes up its facts to the detriment of its readers and to all the publications that blindly reprint them.
OMG, George Clooney is Twihard-Proofing the Daily Mail!! He’s got the documents! He’s got the DNA tests! He will prove journalistic malpractice, by God. Seriously though, George makes a good point about the “sources” and the buffet of weird/false reporting about Amal. And it’s his right to do so, and hey, it makes for great gossip stories. But that’s sort of the problem if you’re George, right? He’s brought SO MUCH attention to these Daily Mail stories. It’s The Streisand Effect.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I’m not a fan of George, but he did his due diligence.
The DM most likely made up the story, but wanted to save face by saying they had a source who lied; in essence, they were hoodwinked too. He called them out on the fabrication. Good for him.
+1
now he needs to shut the f*ck up.
Hahaha!
I’m not sure what George’s statement does except continue his side of the story. he makes no valid points.
The Mail is citing what is a defense to allegations of defamation in the US, i.e., that they relied upon a source, in this case a reporter they have past, reliable experience with. If a case was brought they would identify this source and have to explain why they felt they could rely on it for accuracy. This is what lifts it out of “malicious” and that they did not publish the story with “reckless disregard for the truth.” Other than that the report is the truth, this would be their defense. Quite frankly in the US I can’t even imagine that the story is defamatory – I realize that stories that are simply untrue without being defamatory published in the UK are handled differently legally than they are in the US.
I also don’t see how the fact of the father’s religion or family history belies that the mother could still prefer the daughter not marry George.
I also don’t see how the report saying the source, a family friend, talked to the Mail belies that the source relayed the story through the reporter. The reporter is the stand-in for the Mail. George makes no points in his response whatsoever. As we say, he’s just sayin’
As an aside, anyone who thinks this seemingly grasping mother isn’t thrilled about who her daughter is marrying is naive to the Nth degree.
I cannot believe I spent time defending The Mail. LOL!
@Katherine, He doesn’t intimate that he has ANY intentions of filing a suit. His statement is no different than the Anti Defamation League’s when not accepting the ridiculous initial apology made by Oldman. Again, not a fan of Clooney, but he called them out on their bullshit, plain and simple.
It would have been better if he just ignored the story. He’s brought so much more attention to it. He may think he’s winning this “war” but it’s overkill. It makes him look silly IMO.
I have to say I am with Katherine on this one. To add to what she said so well above, I would point out that while he is saying what he is saying, we have no evidence that what he is saying is true. None. Parse it. It is quite simple for him to state that it is untrue and he has the evidence, but it is a different thing to prove that. And his lawyer fiancee is notably silent on the matter, by the way. The DM withdrew the story possibly to avoid a suit, but their apology is not quite the apology of admission if, again, you parse the phrasing. It is my guess they are saving their nuts and adding to them for another future story.
I was recently in the position of helping a coworker accused of something. The person was under bold attack by a higher up who made similar statements: “It can be proved….” with all assurance and suitable display of shocked rage. In point of fact, the accuser’s position could not be proved, because he had nothing, and unfortunately for him, I did. He was trying to bury something harmful that was actually his doing, and it was simple to blame an underling. When he learned I had the evidence, he backed down and melted away.
So, while Clooney may be entirely in the right on this matter and right to be angry. as it is after all the gossipy part of the DM, I have to wonder when I parse the statements. (And like Katherine, I am thinking, Wow, I am defending the DM?!?!?!)
Alva- +1.
The first response was justified. Now , he’s just buying in to their baiting. George, you know PR 101 better than anyone. Time to STFU.
I agree with him though. They make shit up all of the time. Trying to blame it on “sources” is BS.
I would also say that celebrities/actors make up stuff all the time to benefit their image. Don’t feel sorry for either sides.
Is it too early to say, ” he’s the new Tom cruise?”
Yes it is too soon….he is NOT the new Tom Cruise. Whether a fan of Mr. Clooney’s or not, he is NOT a Scientologist. He is a rather inteligent well spoken individual. Wherein, he may have dragged this nonstory the DM posted way out of proportion, IMO he is simply trying to defend his lady.
No its not too soon Kimber. You are right on target!
+1000 yes I agree, all we need is a couch jump and he’s there.
It’s totally possible that somebody did say that. Maybe not the mother, maybe another relative, or the father! Maybe he or she, who said it, thinks of Clooney as only an actor. DM cannot say who the source of that info is. Anyway, who cares. Clooney should be used to gossip.
From where I sit, it always blows me away that either the people who do the misrepresenting, or in this case, the publication itself, tosses the reporter under the bus to save its own sorry skin.
I was supportive of George’s initial statement, but this is just…. unnecessary? Why get into a pissing match with the Daily Mail? George seems to be putting himself on discount lately. His PR game is better than this. What is going on with this dude?
Yes! Methinks Georgie is protesting a bit too much
Perhaps he is trying to show his “statesmanship”. Prepping for that career in politics. Speaking out for the truth. Who knows?
I don’t know… there was something about the ‘However, we accept Mr Clooney’s assurance… that probably rubbed him the wrong way. I know it cheesed me off, and I’m not a fan of Clooney.
The mere tone of it sounded like Clooney is obligated to ‘check-in’ with the Daily Mail. Clooney is just letting them know that he will not address them on a regular basis and certainly not in the usual charming Clooney kind of way.
Because he’s either genuinely pissed, genuinely concerned for the welfare of his beard’s parents and friends, or genuinely needs to look like he gives a holy crap about The Woman Whose Presence May Successfully Legitimize Him In The World of International Politics.
@WAAMOS
Your last sentence should be added to Amal’s CV
🙂
I just realized Amal’s people might have leaked this story to show how important she is. Look what Clooney will do for me? He certainly didn’t so that to his other escorts. I mean he even let his camp leak out how he has upgraded to Amal and how dumb, etc they all were. Amal for the win.
Bingo! Your last sentence is priceless.
Do you really truly think she is his beard?
Legitimize him in the world of international politics? How can she do that? She is one of more than 90 juniors at the firm she works for. She is in the news now because of him, a HW actor. He is the famous one. People know him from the movies.
I must say, he’s playing a different PR games lately. Interesting to see him doing something other than his usual. Hmmmmm….
Makes him look kind of bitchy and desperate.
@Abbott : Lol. True to that. But I’m bored with his usual MO. So looking like a grumpy bitchy old man for once in a while sorta refreshing. : )
I have a theory: George’s recent “open letters” have Amal written all over them. Sad little George has spent so much time around vacuous beauties he now finds himself in total awe of everything that comes out of Amal’s mouth and wants to share it with the whole world immediately. He is convinced we will all be as blown-over as he is by her retorts to the Daily Mail’s claims about her family. He wants us to think he is as brilliant as he thinks she is. Sigh.
Precisely. I used to love George…and now he seems so “overkill” in the romance department that he’s lost his edginess. This woman is a beanpole…that sort of reminds me of a camel…the way she walks…all gawky. Always has glasses or phone or something in the one hand. Can she not balance upright without a purse on one hand and the item she deems necessary on the other?
Lets hope all this hype about her…and her filthy rich lifestyle and family…holds up in the longhaul.
+1000
I don’t know why you think a response is unnecessary. The initial report that was the cause of this was irresponsible at best, and at worse disingenuous. He is defending his future in-laws that don’t have the public persona to be heard on this issue. They certainly didn’t ask to be thrown into the tabloids so yes, it is his responsibility to defend them.
If he decides to go after any publication, gossip site, etc that prints lies about him or his family, he’s in for quite the uphill battle. You have his initial letter, the DM’s apology, and it should’ve ended there.
This, more than anything, has made me think he’s definitely going to run for office. The whole thing has a whiff of campaigning about it.
Samantha, +1 I can’t think of any thing else that could explain this hardball response. I doubt this is motivated by chivalry.
Campaigning to be utters annoying.
If he does run I can’t Wait to see what jokes Tina fey comes up with about him.
He could be secretary for women’s issues. Does that exist? He is an expert on women. lol
George Clooney for president!
President of Hooters Las Vegas.
couldn’t agree more. He comes off as an angry ol’ uncle who is cursing at the TV because “they did get it wrong, again”. I mean, no one should ever take anything published by DM seriously – isn’t it common knowledge? There are people our there who would believe anything, but frankly one should know better. So the question is – why has he been engaging with the press so much? First the ridiculous beef with Steve Wynn, now this… he is losing his touch and is one step away from slipping into being embarrasing.
No, it’s not common knowledge that the Daily Fail is not to take serious….
“when you’re in a hole, stop digging” comes to mind…smacks of his pissing match with Steve Wynn not too long ago. He is starting to have trouble knowing when to speak and then when to back off and he snatches defeat out of the jaws of victory!
People can hate, but I agree with him that they pushed it far… also The Mail has become a monster. Everyone reads it, even celebrities admit that they get addicted to it. It’s like Buzzfeed. So, it makes sense that he would attack them worse than others.
“Everyone reads it”
Well, George certainly does. He knows more about whats written of him than most of his fans.
Oh snap! 🙂
The Daily Fail is one of the WORST tabloids out there for sure… but it’s sooooo addictive. I’m ashamed that I read it everyday.
yes DM is pure evil and no “real” tabloid, they make up stories and use misleading headlines to create outrage (immigration, rasism, EU, politics). They love to bash working mothers, femists and/or succesful people.
Almost every celeb story is made-up just because they have new pictures. They need a few words between the pics that´s all.
I don´t read the DM… i just read the headlines, click on some posts and look at the photos… and yes i´m ashamed because i count as reader for this rag
The Daily Mail comment section is hilarious. 🙂
What’s the BEST kind of tabloid then, if there’s a “worst”?!!
George should have let it lie after the initial apology – EVERYONE knows The Daily Mail is FOS and they admitted it, so why draw further attention to a story?
I’ve always sort of thought that People was a pretty reputable tabloid. Or is it a magazine? I don’t know. Regardless, it seems to be the most consistent magazine (to me at least).
People or Kneepads is reputable because all of the celebs go to it when they want to push out media friendly stories about themselves.
The worst kinds of tabloids are the English ones that hack the phones of child murder victims, publish sexually and physically invasive photographs of their victims, concoct degrading and humiliating stories about their subjects that aren’t even remotely based in fact, and aren’t even smart enough to cover their tracks by offering an apology that is consistent with their original story. It’s a sad day when George Clooney is the honest and straightforward guy in the media.
Tabloids and gossip magazines in my country are actually quite respectful towards famous people, they don’t post pics of the kids, unless authorized by the parents, most news are about fashion and stuff like that and they don’t dig too much into people’s life.. some gossip but not “hardcore” gossip…
Probably because he thinks he is so important. How dare the DM say that about MY future mil. Notice that he didn’t say what her religion is. Only that she’s not a Druze.
I’ve already said that whatever she is, it doesn’t prove she couldn’t have said it but, of course, he has to deny it.
Yes, he should have let it go after the initial apology.
+1000
Cloonzy’s always got to have the last word
Not only that, but he’s showing how completely paper thin his skin is. For me, it just reinforces the idea that he’s trying to whitewash his image for future political office. Nice try George, but after all these years, we pretty much “Get you”.
If his skin was paper thin he would be addressing the other lies and rumors the tabloids have printed.This issue is religious and cultural differences .That first article mentioning people who have been maimed or killed for marrying outside the Druze religion is why he is focusing on this
He’s not whitewashing his image. He’s correcting a completely false allegation that his fiancée’s mother is against the marriage due to religious concerns. I don’t give a rodent’s rectum about whatever oddball reason people think this marriage is taking place, that’s his business and Amal’s. However I do agree with him that scurrilous publications like the DM go way beyond what’s acceptable when they publish baseless lies just to garner readership, and he’s well within his rights to publicly denounce them.
I agree with you, Kim1. This is not an issue of him having a thin skin. Some people are lucky not to have been affected by violence brewed from religious intolerance. But many people in the world have been, and articles like this can cause great harm. Clooney is self-important and I’m still mad at the mess that was The Monuments Men, but what he is talking about is not cheezy celebrity gossip. The Daily Mail makes me effing sick to my stomach. If they had printed something like this about my family, some of whom live in the Middle East, I would be seeing red.
Paper-thin skin is not good for a politician, is it!
If he enters politics, he and she remind me of Anthony Weiner, who wanted to be Mayor of New York, and his wife, Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s assistant (from Saudi Arabia).
Normally, I would think George should just let it go, but I get where he’s coming from in this case. Someone close to him was targeted by the tabloid only because of their connection to him. I’m sure he feels a responsibility to shut down any further speculation on the topic.
Especially with all of the religious crazies out there.
Since the focus of the story is Baria Alamuddin, who is not a public figure, George should silence himself and let Baria decide if SHE wants to something, which could include a lawsuit, against the Daily Mail.
I’m guessing he didn’t decide to go off on the DM without talking to his fiancé’s mother first. The only reason she’s being dragged through mud is because her daughter’s marrying a famous guy, and the famous guy in question is going to get a lot farther calling them out for it than she would. George is totally on the side of right here.
Normally, I would have no sympathy for George Clooney and this type of situation. However, I do in this case. Also, I like the snappy, sharp tone of his rebuttal. They gave a smarmy, disingenuous “apology” when he first slapped them down and he slapped that down even harder in response. Good for George.
Why should he sit there like a turnip when such easily-checked fabrications are breathlessly propagated as cold, hard fact?
+1
+1000
Agree with Frida’s comment: “…smarmy, disingenuous “apology”” describes it perfectly. I don’t get all the anti-George sentiments I have read here lately. George is one of the good guys in Hollywood. His friends, relatives, and employees worship him. He has his own code and he sticks to it. I’m glad George slapped down this nasty sewage of a trade rag. They could well have put his fiancee and himself in danger if some looney decided their marriage was inappropriate. Well done, GC!
I am pro anything that calls the daily fail out. They are a regressive vile site.
Oh, George.
On the shallow side of things, I love Alma’s coral dress (and the side-eye the lady with the orange dress behind her is giving her).
I’m just happy someone has shown up the dastardly Daily Fail
I truly hate the Daily Mail. It is a vile, hateful, malicious, hypocritical website and newspaper and I feel ashamed of myself every time I read an article on it. They frequently and constantly heap scorn on women for daring to show any measure of skin, for having jobs, for the hint of promiscuity. They hold themselves up as moral guardians, yet the sidebar of shame is constantly full of the most perverted, leery articles often about very young women. They once wrote an article about the 8 year old daughter of a model and called her a leggy beauty – an eight year old! If a women walks down the street in a short skirt, she’s ‘showing off’ her legs. If a women is pregnant, no matter what she’s wearing, she’s ‘showing off’ her bump, If she’s sitting on the beach in a bikini, she’s ‘proudly displaying her curves’. It’s vile.
They make up stories from pictures, steal copy straight from other newspapers and websites and just publish any old crap that will generate links. They have no morals, no standards and no compassion.
Because they are (or claim to be) the most visited news site in the world, most other entertainment sites, including yourselves sadly, report the shite they write and their stories, even the obviously made up ones, are legitimized.
Somebody needs to go to war on them. Somehow, they escaped unscathed from the recent hacking probes in the UK. Sadly, I don’t think that even George Clooney can take them down, but if he at least makes people realize that the ‘stories’ they write are fictional, their effect might not be so toxic.
As a former gossip journalist, I agree with everything you have just said. I read an article once (maybe on xoJane?) written by a former Daily Mail journalist about how her job was literally to make up stories about celebs walking down the street to go with paparazzi images.
Gossip Journo where?
CO-SIGN.
The DM is vile, in every respect. They harassed a trans woman until she killed herself. They routinely run “scary immigrants are taking over everything!” stories that reputable papers have shown to be 100% made up (including quotes from airlines and bus companies that the companies NEVER GAVE). Everything they say about women is disgusting. And they totally, utterly, with ZERO basis, make up stories on pretty much every famous person they write about. George won’t be able to shut them down, but good on him for trying. Anyone who goes after that website is doing the lord’s work in my book.
Its a genuienly awful right wing piece of shit! The worst for me was when they basically did a character assination on a trans woman who worked in a primary school they called her out for being trans and how selfish she was, how dare she want to work with children! And how she will basically mess up the children by doing this. The woman killed herself not long after.
Standing up, clapping, nodding my head. I’m with you, sister!
Someone found the earlier article and called it to his attention. That gave him more ammunition to TAKE DOWN THE DAILY MAIL.
Come on, George. There are more important things going in in the world than what a gossip rag says about your new mother-in-law.
I believe there really are huge cultural differences between the two families. The Daily Fail must have hit a nerve because this is overkill. George is making it clear to ALL publications that his wife’s background and religion are off limits. He doesn’t want to keep explaining that he is marrying someone from an offshoot of Islam who isn’t actually Muslim.
He should have picked a nice girl from north America, who’s smart, pretty and knits for a living.
No controversy with that one.
But I think GC likes the drama of all this.
Yeah he should have picked a nice white All American Christian woman to fall in love with. I don’t understand these people who fall in love with people of another race or religion or of the same sex.They are just being difficult.
@Kim1 fantastic answer…. 🙂
Cool down! Nobody is against interfaith marriages here. Clooney is the one talking about gossip putting people in harm’s way and so on. He seems to be having a huge problem with his own marriage! If he can’t handle people speculating about his new family he should have picked someone mundane and non-controversial – or better yet, shut up and eloped.
Do you honestly not understand how the DM article DOES put people in harm’s way? From your perspective he is just bitching because he doesn’t want people to think she’s Muslim? I would suggest that you are missing the point. In a major way.
that white lace sweatpant and blue feather visor wearing lady couldnt look more all american if you stuffed a burger in her hand and dropped her off at 6 flags. on the tabloid food chain, she’s a lot closer to honey boo boo than princess rania.
Who is Princess Rania?
I fully support George taking a stand on this issue.
Religious beliefs, especially in places like Beirut, are paramount. Wars start over this stuff. It could be that the discord from this fake article is very serious to Amal’s family.
I know nothing about the Druze faith…but I can tell you, I know some Catholics who would freak out if it were suggested that they were Protestants, and vice versa.
thats what i dont get. people on this blog call out racism when a paper asks them too. but when a paper obviously is islamophobic like the DM certainly is and its printing lies to make the islam look bad its all cool with people and George needs to shut up…
There’s a strong double standard based on whether the celebrity is one liked around these parts or not. A lot of people here don’t like George, so anything he does is necessarily self-absorbed or overly dramatic. If people liked George, they would be applauding him for doing the same thing.
I wanted to say what you said. But I am new and didn’t want my first comment to be sharp. Well observed, though
@esti. I completely agree. As I said before, if gwyneth paltrow slammed leann rhymes, they would side with the former.
@Maria But yesterday, most people were giving him the reason, if you pay attention to the previous thread… He got complimented. for doing this and people said religion should never be brought up so irresponsibly in newspapers… at least most people were criticizing the DFail
The problem is George doesn’t want to be associate with DRuze sect but the point is he is marrying into DRuze family he can deny the mother is no DRuze but the whole family are DRuze
Exactly! She is her father’s daughter and if the family is Druze and her mother isn’t then her father is. Whatever religion her mother is, Clooney IS marrying into a Druze family.
Please, the whole thing is just a big publicity stunt for Clooney. No way, there is anything serious going on between him and her. Besides, her mother is a journalist for the Daily Fail.
Her mother writes for the Daily Mail? What has she written? The DM is so damn anti immigrant I cannot imagine them ever printing anything from her unless the story was about how her family were eating swans or how they are taking British jobs. Do the Alamuddin’s live in a council house that costs the British taxpayers millions?
This reminds me of that thing last year where he and that billionaire got in a shouting match over dinner and they both just wouldn’t shut up about it, releasing competing statements for weeks. George really really loves to be right about something.
This is going to be a very interesting time in Clooney gossip. The DM are going to hate Clooney for this and they just might go after him with the gloves off. It’s very possible there will now be a big and damaging revelation about Clooney and Amal to come (this time true and sourced), and it will be coming from a very angry DM wanting revenge. If I were Clooney, I’d worry my whole house in Como is now full of bugs and listening devices! A war between Clooney and the DM would be something to witness.
LOL … That would be Brilliant!
Getting the popcorns and the sofa ready… Let’s start the show…
oh yes they will hit back. Now they have to prove something 😉 Just a matter of time.
I’ll bet the Daily Mail Offices in LA and NY are searching and digging for dirt on him. One letter was fine, but he is stirring a hornets nest now,
When you stop and think about it, what did DM write that is so offensive? It is not unusual for one or more members of a man’s or woman’s family and circle of friends to judge the future bride or groom. Haven’t any of you ever heard “She could do better” or “he could do better?”
I don’t find it offensive if anyone has wondered aloud why she couldn’t find a partner among their 500,000 member clan/tribe. That’s just an opinion he or she is entitled to. Maybe he or she doesn’t think much of an actor with GC’s reputation.
I get that there is obvious negligence (or malice?) by the Daily Mail. But considering how George himself has courted the press, and cultivated his public image through various, no doubt paid, relationships, who is he to complain now? He looks like he has an extremely fragile ego and combined with his very sudden need for marriage, it makes him look pathetic! Is it a mid-life crisis?
DM also ran that ‘exclusive’ interview with his Kentucky kinfolk and friends last month. Yet he never mentioned that in his responses. Interesting.
Did they accuse the Kentucky relatives of being Muslims? What lie did they write about his Kentucky relatives?
I simply find it interesting that in his lengthy open letters, he never referenced that this same paper sent reporters to his hometown immediately after his June family reunion. He could have said it did or did not bother him that they went to such lengths to come up with their exclusive story.
If he’s trying to establish that DM has been overly aggressive in their coverage and his family, looks like he would have devoted a sentence to it.
Indeed. If Angelina could keep her heath issues a secret then surely George could have kept this relationship quiet until they were married. He turned it into a spectacle and now has to deal with all its consequences.
you cant compare the two. if you want to date you are most likely leaving your house at times, so people will see you and your date. angelinas health can be kept quiet because people in a hospital are bound by law not to reveal it.
also if he orchestrates his private life still doesnt give people the right to make up stuff about him and his families. they can call him out on the PR stuff though.
Great point. We knew nothing about Angelina until after her mastectomy, and Eva Mendes and Ryan Gossling are seven months pregnant and we find out now. Why do we have so much detail about him and a non-celebrity marriage? George is controlling it. I think he enjoys the argument with the Daily Mail, and that is what bothers me. Also, this really isn’t that big of news certainly not Watergate style. He needs to get control of his ego, and get married already if that is what he is going to do.
Apples vs Oranges
Did Brad and Angie keep their engagement a secret ? No
Just like with George ,someone saw the engagement ring.
There have been hundreds of stories about Brad and Angie’s wedding including yesterday on ENews.Are they leaking these BS stories to tabloids or entertainment shows?
I agree with you. I also think it’s interesting how every one of his statements positions him ‘politically’ as the “good guy standing up to the nasty billionaires/tabloids/religious intolerants and or irresponsibles” (delete as appropriate) – he’s picking fights that will push his public image into a more overtly political direction. I’ve always argued this whole relationship is a passport/cover-up for another career in public office – he’s seizing every opportunity that comes his way now to do just that. The Mail are vile in every possible way BUT he’s weakening his own arguments by constantly feeding of the media for his own ends.
George and Advil had a whole PR campaign pushing this engagement.
P.S. How is this woman a good choice for him politically? I think she’s an awful choice for that in the US. The opposition will destroy him and by the time Tina Fey or Sat,Night Live is done making more jokes about him, even if the jokes are soft ones, ….if he runs, he will look like even more of a joke than he did on that award show night, where the entire world was in on the joke and laughed at him.
Yet another statement? Doesn’t he have a wedding to plan or something?
His second rebuttal is immature and pointless.
it is immature to defend yourself when someone is abusing press freedom to spread lies about your mother in law? quite the contrary.
i read in the HuffPo that Angelina Jolie has started proceedings to sue DM for the heroin video. i think George should do the same.
sidenote: however, i’m slightly confused why Angelina would sue DM and not Natl Enquirer (the one who bought the video? and started it all; is it more difficult to sue NE?). plus it is old news and not a lot of people care anyway.
George has much more excuse to sue in this regard. his issue is more current than AJ’s video, the problem comes directly from DM and it will strenghten his opposition against DM (rather than a series of letters).
It is easier to sue in the UK than the US, but I would doubt Angelina will sue as unfortunately, they can legally conjecture and they have a video. She may not have authorized it, but I still think it would be difficult. I think she may be just trying to make everyone know it is bs. Which is what George is doing too, but he is overdoing it as usual IMO.
It is not just that it is easier to sue in the UK, it is that there are different grounds you can cite as a basis for your law suit. Just the fact that something is untrue can be grounds for seeking redress in the UK, not so in the US.
The Jolie video contains nothing defamatory about it per se. It is just someone talking on a phone and shows nothing untoward at all. I didn’t read the entire accompanying story so perhaps that story could be the basis for an action. I forget now but there may be grounds for action if the video is an invasion of privacy or is being used for purposes for which the video was not created. It seemed as if Jolie and the videographer had an exchange at the end as if there was a purpose for her allowing the video be taken such as trying out his camera but not for purposes of sale. I can’t even imagine she cares about this. Though she may care about the obviously false statement that this is some drug den when it is her home.
I think Angelina’s lawsuit if it is true will be based on the fact that she did not agree to be taped and her image used for someone else’s gain. As what I saw wasn’t really any different than what she has admitted to before. Don’t think she can use the its a lie story as at least a good portion and the general gist of the story appears to be true for her 90’s self.
George and his ego, should sue if he feels it is wrong, especially since he has made it a bigger story anyway.
I don’t think Angie’s going to sue the DM. It remains to be seen, however I don’t believe the story is true.
I think Angelina will just go about her humanitarian work and basically ignore the tabloids as usual.
the DM and other english newspapers are under investigations for taping phones. so i dont understand why they dont lay low for a while but are instead still doing things that can get them sued.
it is by the way not the Streisand effect. that would be if someone wants to keep something secret. George is proving that they were lying. now everybody who googles this story will not think about the original story, but that the DM lied. its good that George is doing that.
i dont understand how people can attack him for defending his close ones against LIES.
the DM does not only make up things, they dont even remember the articles they wrote two days ago.
also “and to all the publications that blindly reprint them.” no word on that? i mean this blog also covered it without second guessing it.
Still…..Much of the public won’t go past the first story.
Bravo, George. I rolled my eyes when I read their apology, too. I tried reading their front page yesterday and sloppy errors yet again in spelling, etc.
He has all the right to be upset, but I question his motives to do so… Why didn’t address the I numerous tabloids making fun of his past girlfriends? This makes me think he is , in fact, an ahole of the worst kind and confirms that his pr was heavily behind the ” she is at his level” quotes.
+1
This story was bigoted and potentially dangerous to Amal’s family. It was a whole other level from what the DM wrote about his exes. This isn’t about treating Amal differently than his exes — tabloids have written a lot of things about her, too, and George hasn’t gone after those. It’s the subject of this article that was the problem.
Many gossip people implied that Stacy was not only a contract, but she was an escort. If I were her parents I would be very upset. I get that religion is a very serious topic. But implying someone does escort services for a living is something George should had addressed as well. I, for one, started to believe because we never heard any rebuttal from him.
Whoever dubbed Amal “Advil” was spot on because she and her family are sure causing some major headaches for George! He really needs to do some serious soul searching before he says “I do,” because if he goes through with the marriage he’ll be walking on egg shells for the rest of his life. Everything he says and does, everything that’s written about him will be scrutinized by the crazies. Advil may be a “modern woman” living in London but some of her extended family and people in her homeland have a very different way of life. George never had to deal with such cultural differences and its resulting drama in his previous relationships. He has to decide if it’s all worth the hassle. If he thinks it is he needs to put on his big boy pants and deal with the consequences…classic “you made your bed, now lie in it!”
Me….I called her Advil first…weeks and weeks ago, because they were already giving me headaches causing me to call her Advil.
I hope Tina Fey does another joke soon, maybe he and Advil will do a interview and tv special about their engagement like JLO and Ben Affleck did, when they were engaged. 🙂
It’s starting to remind me of children quarreling What’s next George? Twitter wars?
I guess I don’t understand why he does not go after all the tabloids who have been printing junk since he started dating this particular woman and after his engagement as well as all the other women he has dated. The DM is not alone, so I guess I don’t get why he is so ticked off at them alone. And why was it OK to release his family photos to them and run all those other stories and have complementary stories with her walkabouts, her great style, the beautiful ring? This is one strange relationship. Maybe they went against some arrangement when they printed this last story and he is PO’d that they went this far. The whole thing is kind of strange.
IMO Advil and George’s PR people had the Daily Mail as a early go to source for positive promotion of her image, in the early stages . When Advil first started her fashion-walks-of the London street just after the engagement, I read a tweet from someone who was Kate Middleton’s favorite paparazzi of choice during those dating years, who helped build her image as Williams serious girlfriend ) and there was an interesting tweet. The paparazzi said basically. , Clooney’s new fiancée was going to be at a certain place , at a certain time and he had just got word to go take photos.
Didn’t DM put out a story about her ‘beautiful’ mother? Seems like I remember an article with some obviously long ago photos. Minus any feather visors, lol. I do remember it seemed they were really trying to help build up the whole thing.
Yes, they compared her to Elizabeth Taylor saying her beauty was thought to be above Liz, rivaling eg; Sophia Loren or some other Actress known for her great beauty and appeal.
Not a peep from George.
I wonder what his relationship is with USA Today? Why are they his go-to publication?
I was about to ask the same thing! A couple of months ago, when he had his kerfuffle with that billionaire he issued his statements to USA Today as well. Are they the only ones who ask him for comment?
Boy, he sure don’t want to let this issue go, won’t he? More PR for him and his beard, i guess.
And I feel bad for the DailyMail, lol: the paper has been making up stories about celebrities for years and everyone was OK with it, because, well, why waste time? This is what this paper exists for, to make up stuff. Suddenly, out of nowhere George got upset and started this whole campaign against the tabloid almost making the DailyMail go like “whoa, man, where did that come from?
LOL
This is not the Streisand effect. He wants to shame DM big time. I’m with George. So what if he’s a celeb or he knows the publicity game or if he did not bother about other rumours? When it comes to your feelings, only you would know if a line has been crossed and we are not him. This is a woman he is going to marry regardless of the speculations we are making. So yes, it’s up to him if it’s different this time. When it comes to racism, I have seen so many posters saying it’s not up to us to decide who should be offended or not. If someone is offended, then yes it’s offensive. So why don’t we just give George this. He was offended and he rebutted strongly. You just can’t please everyone. Keep quiet and people think there’s a smidgen of truth or that you have no backbone to defend yourself. Speak up and everybody loses their minds.
@Jade – Your case is well laid out and quite articulate, I totally agree with you.
George should sue and then force The Daily Mail to admit in open court all the stories they lied about, that would completely destroy them and also destroy those simplistic readers of “The Daily Lies” who actually believe the Tabloids.
What do simplistic readers think when a Tabloid says “sources say ” —-Following that statement is a fantasy load of goods sold by the boatload to the gullible.
You would be better served spending the reading time trying to figure out how to make the lives of your family better and happier.
It baffles me when people claim he is with Amal to help with a future political career. Please help me understand how this Lebanese woman with a father who is a Druze who claim to fame is Assange’s atty helps George’s political aspirations?
I was wondering about that too. How exactly is she meant to do that in the USA where she is only known through clooney?
I don’t think he is George has said that The Daily Mail has printed a bunch of fabricated story about him and Amal including that he’s running for some type of office.
and constantly having to explain druze is not muslim. might as well hyphenate their names with it.
Yup.
I wonder that too. IMO No way this woman helps him in America. The opposition will destroy him and her.
I still thin she is an awful choice for him politically if that was one of his goals. Politics!
To invoke the Streisand effect here is a malapropism.
George is doing what he feels he needs to do in order to protect his fiancee and her family.I have learned that you have to let people feel what they feel, especially when they have been wronged in some way.So if he feels angry,offended,insulted, or worried that things have gone to far then he has every right to express his displeasure at it all and if setting the record straight through letters and released statements is the best way for him on how to handle theses situations then so be it.To me their is no right or wrong.
One more thought. Except for the diss at the end about not accepting their apology, this sounds like it was written by George’s lawyer. I’ll leave it to others to speculate which one!
Stop saying George is smart, in this article is his lawyer talking because the lawyer used a lot fact in this article just like any lawyer in a court , George only sign the bottom, so he won’t sue DM, by publishing this article is a sort of suing by calling them liar because other publishing media will reprint this article like the done with the “fabricate story”
I honestly hope The Daily Mail and possible other like it have learned their lesson because if not George will just keep going after them if they continue.
What the Daily Mail will do is dig deeper,for videos, photos, stories which CAN be verified of George which may be scandalous. I knew someone who worked for the NYPost and he said even when a celebrity wins , they can never really best the press, if a press organization decides to go against someone they can eventually find something.
I don’t blame George for being angry and going after the Daily Mail, but the one letter was enough.
Advil has had weeks and weeks of lovely syrupy articles in the Daily Mail, which I believe her camp and George’s camp were using initially as a pr vehicle in the UK. When it got negative and incorrect about her family he went ballistic which is absolutely understandable,but he should not stir this hornets nest further. IMO
The daily Mail has offices in LA and NY ,they will now be digging deep for anything in his past, whereas before they seemed to be promoting Advil as his amazing British fiancée, and seemed mostly supportive of the romance. This may get ugly if the Daily Mail decides to turn on him completely . He should maybe just let dog-papers lay on the floor,with that one letter and move on.
but is that ok? should you not stand up against lies because they will abuse the press freedom which is mainly in place against government control and not against mediocore actors?
its like someone with a biting dog: “just lay down and let him bite you, he will lose interest”.
this revenge reporting is doing the crediblity of journalists no favour.
The Daily Mail loved that George responded in US today paper it is free publicity for them. It seemed to me that George’s team was feeding all the publicity and Amal seemed to enjoy the attention. You can’t have it both ways. This won’t affect him making bad movies in Hollywood and she can still pretend to be an important human rights attorney.
Sorry you feel that way Cody, but I think her degrees and Attorney certificate but that little “officer of the court” laminated ID card certify she’s a genius, maybe we need to look at our own achievements before we cast disdain on someone who has actually achieved something.
The American bar association exam is nothing like the high requirements of the British legal system, you have to be a near or actual genius to pass it, and Amal has the certificates to prove she’s a genius.
Actually @Gypsy I have achieved much. I graduated for an ivy law school and work in the area of human rights law. No one paid my way. Try studying and passing the New York Bar, very difficult. In my firm, no one has ever heard of her,until Clooney started selling Amal to the public. Most of the attorneys in my field do not go around selling themselves as being important and better than other attorneys. With all her accomplishments, I would think she would be embarrassed about the type of publicity she is getting. Anyway, I don’t see her as human rights barrister, with the type of law that she does, at most a international criminal barrister.
@Gypsy: degrees really don’t matter in the end- it’s what you DO with them. So far, she did choose to (co-) defend some rather controversial people. There are plenty of unknown, intelligent people who studied hard for their degrees- she’s no different from those. And aside from any degree, it’s what good we do for the wellbeing of others that counts the most. Also, a ‘genius’ would not marry Clooney 🙂
@Cody, yes she’s an international solicitor, meaning that she has to have passed her exams in the British Isle (England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales) plus be certified (through exams) to practice in continental Europe by the EU common legal code.
Notwithstanding her being certified to teach law in the United States, as a “Master of Laws”.
The above will tell you why there are so few like her and those like her are paid a king’s ransom.
so, casting aspersions on someone’s credential should be below you as you (Ivy league) should know how hard it is to achieve that, especially at her level.
her credentials are extremely impressive.
The only examination higher curricula more demanding than an English education is a German one, then an American Ivy League, so I am myself very respectful..
Wow! Someone is on her high-horse about the superiority of the British solicitors compared to U.S. lawyers. No, you don’t have to be a “genius” to accomplish what she has. You just have to remained in school long enough to get the degrees and pass the exams. Ask any lawyer (and I am one too). And if she’s a genius, I’d love to know what she’s doing with an intellectual light-weight like Clooney! Is it the money or the fame? Which one?
Agreed!
@Gypsy this is Celebitchy. It is suppose to be fun banter. You are taking this all too personal. There are far more important matters in the world today than George and Amal. The era of George Clooney is almost over. He will get married, loose his middle age female following and then he will be just like other middle age boring married men and Amal will become George Clooney’s wife and that is how the gossip sites will see her.
That’s what I believe too. George and Advil’s pr teams , law office were feeding the press monster, including the Daily Mail.
Yes, George. I don’t care for him, but the DailyMail is complete and utter trash.
I want to wish the couple , George and Amal, best wishes.
How come when we see all the publicity pictures, it is with George’s friends and family and her mother. Where is Amal’s Dad, her pals and family? I get this feeling that from Amal’s side, no one wants to be part of the big publicity circus or maybe Dad and family are bothered by the age difference and not the religion issue.
George is probably like Tom cruise, controlling all aspects as much as possible.
I could sort of accept Clooney’s first response, although I do think that responding to what essentially is gossip tends to do more harm than good. The second time, though, starts to sound like he’s seriously entering Hissy-fit City. I mean, really. If there”s no truth to the rumors, just go out there, get your modern-heterosexual-man-marries-modern-not-overly-observant-Druze-ish-woman-who’s-on-your-level thang going, and just live your damn lives. Enough already!
Does anyone else think that Amal is looking more and more like Anne Hathaway, especial in her casual clothes.
Amal’s mother is not Druze (something The Daily Mail printed in a prior story), so why would she be upset that her daughter isn’t marrying someone who is Druze? This is Clooney’s main point in his rebuttal.
Her father (who presumably is Druze) married someone outside of the faith, so why would he be upset if she married outside of the faith?
Her father lives in Lebanon, which is probably the reason why he’s not seen as often in the British pics, don’t you think?
Seriously bored at this point with Amal’s family’s sects and living arrangements. But then I always found George Clooney boring, both before and after this rushed engagement.
Sandy +1000
George says Amal mother has not been to Lebanon in years and you say her father lives there. So are Amal parents divorced?
As the hacking trial has shown us, it is possible for the DM to receive information via a freelance journalist who has sourced it from a family friend. Journalist may not wish to give up their source and so will rather fall on their own sword.
LAK, I think you are onto something. Their source could be someone from the family or an employee and they chose to give an apology that was not a full apology. I think George’s second letter was unnecessary and I thought that : i won’t accept it” was a little bit childish and shows how big his ego is…
DM is disgusting. The articles and comments are horrible. That tabloid is so vulgar. I think some celebs should sue…
I agree with him. That apology was so strange.
DM is absurd. But so is GC’s suggestion that his engagement to a British barrister will incite some kind of Holy War.
Agreed on both points.
Although we all come here and read many items posted here from the DM. Such as the AJ video that was posted here and many other gossip blogs published it, too. $Click $click $click.
So I enjoy reading all of it, myself, and don’t see a big difference between any of the gossip sites online. I do not, as a rule, bother loading the DM’s huge page, since I can always find it at a blog such as this. How else would I even know about some DM item…
Also, these are just my thoughts re this item, but perhaps George seems so upset over this, not just due to inaccuracies, since he has always laughed such crap off before, but because maybe a faction or even just a person in Amal’s family got very upset over it, which then caused George, who is known to be a very astute and laid back player re all things PR, to wig a bit.
Seems he has some learning to do, if so, regarding other people’s emotional reactions that are overblown or otherwise heavy handed. Just chill and ignore. It will very soon become clear that certain folk always wig out over everything, and they’ve already moved on to the next “insult” to be outraged over, while someone like George, trying to do the right thing by his fianceé, is still figuring it out not to bother.
Been there; done that, myself.
I agree! He is just a little up himself.
I don’t have an issue with George calling out the Daily Mail as they crossed the line. But by the same token, someone should call George out on his crap. He doesn’t comment on his personal life nor does his PR agent. But, People magazine publishes the dating and engagement stories. Of course, some source was quoted but private photos were also used. People doesn’t print a story unless it is approved by the celebrity. So George chooses to use the tabloids when it suits them and then cries when it doesn’t.
+1 So agree with you.
What puzzles me is that Amal is 36 years old, attractive, intelligent, fashionable, successful, and yet there has been no mention of any previous romantic life. You would think the DM would research that — look at the dicey relatives of Kate Middleton they dug up right before she married. I don’t see her as a nun from age 18 – 36. Curious.