Clooney slams Hello! for ‘faked’ interview
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George Clooney has said an “exclusive interview” printed in Hello! magazine is “completely fabricated”.
The 54-year-old Hollywood star said the article, containing quotes from him about his human rights lawyer wife Amal Clooney, is not accurate – because he never gave the interview.
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In a statement released to Entertainment Tonight, the Hail, Caesar! actor said: “Hello! magazine has printed an ‘exclusive interview’ with me that has been widely picked up and reprinted.
“Outlets like Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, The Sun, and The Evening Standard have all printed my exclusive interview and credited Hello! magazine. The problem is that I have not given an interview to Hello! magazine and the quotes attributed to me are not accurate.”
He continued: “In my experience, being misquoted is not unusual, but to have an ‘exclusive interview’ completely fabricated is something new, and a very disturbing trend.”
In the article, Clooney is quoted as saying he and his wife make sure they are never apart for more than a week and “stay in touch via social media”.
Editors at Hello! have said they are “very dismayed” to learn that the interview they purchased from an agency is fabricated.
In a statement, they said: “Hello! magazine and the Hello! Group are very dismayed by Mr George Clooney’s statement that an interview with him that was published by the Hello! Group is not authentic.
“The Hello! Group bought the interview in good faith from a respectable independent agent, Famous, with whom it has dealt for many years and the agency and its writer were both credited at the end of the article in Hello! magazine as is customary.
“Purchase was on the unquestionable understanding that the interview and material were correct and accurate in all respects.
“In the meantime, the Hello! Group can only express its deepest respect for both Mr Clooney and his wife, Amal, and its sincere commitment to respectable and accurate journalism.”
– AAP
