The George Clooney — Daily Mail saga continued on Wednesday with an apology from the British website MailOnline directed toward the actor.
On Monday, the Daily Mail alleged that Clooney’s future mother-in-law, Baria Alamuddin, was opposed to his marriage to her daughter, Amal Alamuddin, on religious grounds. The story claimed that Baria is Druze and that Amal’s family wanted her to marry within her religious sect.
The story was widely-circulated and picked up by various news outlets around the world.
Clooney fired back with an open letter on Wednesday, published on USA Today, denouncing the Daily Mail and their decision to publish what he called a “completely fabricated” story with “dangerous” sentiments.
“The irresponsibility, in this day and age, to exploit religious differences where none exist, is at the very least negligent and more appropriately dangerous,” wrote Clooney.
The MailOnline responded to Clooney’s open letter with a statement of their own later that day under the headline “George Clooney: A Correction and an Apology”.
“The story was not a fabrication but supplied in good faith by a reputable and trusted freelance journalist,” the statement read.
The publication went on to claim that their reporter based her story on “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.” They also wrote that they had 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,” the statement read. “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.”