Cameron Diaz Collects from Newspaper that Lied

Celebrities are always accusing newspapers of lying and invading their privacy on almost a daily basis. Photographers will go to many lengths to get that one picture that puts a celebrity into a situation that they wish they could get out of. Often, these pictures are authentic and end up hurting the images that celebrities work so hard to keep clean. American Media Inc., publisher of the National Enquirer, ended up publishing a story (with photos) that said that Cameron Diaz was having a relationship with another man. The story was proved to be false and Diaz was mad.

Cameron Diaz was dating Justin Timberlake at the time. The pair was one of the hottest couples in the industry. Many people believe that the story helped lead to the friction that eventually caused the pair's relationship to go sour. With the rumors of Diaz cheating on Timberlake growing a an alarming rate because of this story, Diaz fought back. She filed a lawsuit against the distributor of National Enquirer for a large sum. Diaz wanted to collect money for the damages that the story caused her life. She was able to prove that the published story was false and made up.

The magazine released a statement after the court hearing in which they apologized for any distress that was caused to Diaz, Timberlake, and the producer that she was accused of having a relationship with. Sam Howard, the Enquirer's lawyer, said the magazine "entirely accepts that the allegations were without foundation and ought never to have been published." Their story was picked up by SUN Magazine as well. SUN Magazine ended up settling the case for an undisclosed amount in the summer of 2005.

It is unknown how much the settlement to Cameron Diaz was. Her lawyer let the media know that the amount was very substantial and defiantly was a large amount of cash. This is a solid victory for celebrities. They are constantly accused and blamed for things that could not be farther from the truth. The constant allegations end up creating a stress to their lives that they should not have to deal with. Diaz wanted to send a message that she was not going to take false allegations from anyone.

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