The fallout from the ongoing News Of The World wiretapping scandal continues (and with good reason) in spite of the fact that the paper has shut down. Just because Rupert Murdoch closed the paper and suffered a pie in the face doesn’t mean that justice has been served for all of the families of terrorism bombing and 9/11 victims whose phones were tapped just so some unethical journalists could print the horrible details and sell more papers. So this saga will live on far into the future while many celebrities like Jude Law sue for having their phone hacked during the heyday of Editor Rebekah Brook’s tenure. Oh, and now Sienna Miller is speaking out too; of course, Sienna’s not the most sympathetic character out there, and it’s difficult to feel sorry for her, but I do feel for her family members that landed on the receiving end of her wrath. Before Sienna realized that her phone was being tapped, she accused her mother and sister of selling stories to the press. She also accused Jude of selling her out as well! Ah well, that relationship was entirely doomed from its many beginnings anyway, but Sienna now tells the Telegraph about her experience:

[Sienna Miller], 29, believed a succession of articles about her private life which appeared in the Sunday tabloid must have been leaked by a close friend or member of her family.

She was left so paranoid by intimately private stories published between 2005 and 2006 that she accused her mother Josephine, sister and former boyfriend Jude Law of selling them to the press.

Miller, who reached a £100,000 settlement with the NOTW and is now assisting with the Leveson inquiry, also said she planted false stories after becoming suspicious that her phone was being interfered with.

She told The Independent: “I changed my mobile number three times in three months. There were clicks on the line. I would pick up the phone and it would drop, there were messages I would never get, coupled with articles (containing private information) coming out every week.

“So I started to do tests. I would leave messages on people’s phones, like we’re going to rent this house or whatever, and it would appear next day in the papers.”

After a number of stories appeared that only her inner circle of friends and family could possible know about, the actress said she gathered them together for a showdown.

“I sat down in a room with my mother, my best friend, my sister, my boyfriend, and said someone in this room is lying and selling stories and one of you has got to admit it.”

Miller, who was targeted because of her high-profile relationship with Law, said she was still reluctant to take on Rupert Murdoch’s media empire when the hacking scandal emerged for fear that it could damage her career.

“Everyone was scared of Rupert Murdoch, even governments,” she said.

“People are terrified for their own reputations. They want the press on their side.”

Miller said she finally decided to take legal action because she could not stand back and do nothing.

“The tabloid media culture in this country had got to a point where it was completely immoral. There was no consideration for you as a human being,” she added.

“I realised I couldn’t continue living in this country and doing my job, which I loved. You want to feel that you can do something creative that you love without being picked apart and mutilated for other people’s pleasure.”

[From Telegraph]

While I don’t want to minimize the seriousness of the NOTW scandal, it’s hard to believe that Sienna was afraid of confronting the media when she figured out that her phone was being tapped. After all, she’d already successfully sued British tabloids for printing photos of her in distress as well as in the nude (for which she received a record judgment) on a movie set. Not to mention the time she sued over those topless photos with married Balthazar Getty. So I doubt that Sienna was truly afraid that confronting Murdoch’s publications would damage her career and is probably just saying that to make herself appear the martyr. Although perhaps she does regret breaking up with poor Rhys Ifans over the phone, right?

The bottom line, however is this — Hugh Grant got it right when he bugged that NOTW paparazzo and stated that he didn’t worry much about his reputation with the public: “They don’t give a sh*t. I got arrested with a hooker and they still came to my films. They don’t give a f*&@ about your public image. They just care about whether you’re in an entertaining film or not.” Obviously, while Sienna doesn’t deserve to have her phone tapped, perhaps she should also be concerned about what she does to damage her own reputation, which not only includes starring in crap movies but also banging married men. The latter has done far more damage to her reputation than NOTW could have ever managed on its own.

Photos of Sienna Miller at London Fashion Week courtesy of WENN