Hear him roar! George Clooney is making his voice heard in a major way, penning a strongly worded column for USA Today that slams reports about his personal life.
The actor, 53, took to the national newspaper to comment on a piece from The Daily Mail. The report, which has since been taken down from Mail Online, alleged that Clooney's future mother-in-law Baria Alamuddin is against his upcoming nuptials to fiancée Amal Alamuddin because of religious reasons.
Clooney called the story "irresponsible" and took issue with the conflict-baiting nature of the content, rather than the intrusiveness into his personal life.
"I seldom respond to tabloids, unless it involves someone else and their safety or well being," Clooney wrote. "The Daily Mail has printed a completely fabricated story… 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. Let me repeat that: the death of the bride."
"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 — but none of that is the issue," the Monuments Men star continued. "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."
He went on to explain what he does have a problem with. "This lie involves larger issues," he wrote. "The irresponsibility, in this day and age, to exploit religious differences where none exist, is at the very least negligent and more appropriately dangerous. 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."
After pulling the controversial story, the Daily Mail released a statement on Clooney's essay. "The MailOnline story was not a fabrication but supplied in good faith by a reputable and trusted freelance journalist," the publication said in a statement released to various outlets. "We only became aware of Mr. Clooney’s concerns this morning and have launched a full investigation. However, 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. 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."
