Actor George Clooney tore into the Daily Mail of London on Wednesday for making up a story that his fiancée’s Lebanese mother is against them marrying for religious reasons — which could have incited violence against their families.
Normally silent on what’s written about him in the media, the “Ocean’s Eleven” leading man wrote an op-ed in USA Today saying he could not ignore the “dangers” of the fake report involving his fiancée, Amal Alamuddin, a 36-year-old human-rights attorney from London.
“The Daily Mail has printed a completely fabricated story about my fiancée’s mother,” Clooney wrote. “It says Amal’s mother has been telling ‘half of Beirut’ that she’s against the wedding. It says they joke about traditions in the Druze religion that end up with the death of the bride.”
Clooney continued: “First of all, none of the story is factually true. Amal’s mother is not Druze. She has not been to Beirut since Amal and I have been dating, and she is in no way against the marriage.”
Clooney said it’s “criminal” for any media, in this day in age, to speculate on religious rifts.
“To exploit religious differences where none exist, is at the very least negligent and more appropriately dangerous,” Clooney wrote.
“We have family members all over the world, and the idea that someone would inflame any part of that world for the sole reason of selling papers should be criminal.”
He continued, “When they put my family and my friends in harm’s way, they cross far beyond just a laughable tabloid and into the arena of inciting violence. They must be so very proud.
“I’m, of course, used to the Daily Mail making up stories — they do it several times a week — and I don’t care. If they fabricate stories of Amal being pregnant, or that the marriage will take place on the set of Downton Abbey, or that I’m running for office, or any number of idiotic stories that they sit at their computers and invent, I don’t care.”
The Mail waved the white flag on Wednesday and admitted its story could be fabricated. It claimed it had been “supplied in good faith by a reputable and trusted freelance journalist.”
“We accept Mr. Clooney’s assurance that the story is inaccurate and we apologize to him, Miss Amal Alamuddin and her mother, Baria, for any distress caused,” it said.
But Clooney said his real frustration was that the story was picked up by other rags. He specifically called out the New York Daily News.
The News’ Web site rewrote the Mail’s bad story and published it Monday. The article was still on the News’ site as of Wednesday evening — but with an italicized “editor’s note” linking to Clooney’s response.
The News itself didn’t apologize, but did post a story online, passing the buck and noting the Mail’s apology.
The piece has since been removed from Mail Online.
Additional reporting by Stephanie Pagones