London – Keira Knightley has accepted a $6,000 settlement of her libel claim against a British tabloid over a story that suggested she was to blame for the death of an anorexic teenager.
The actress also said the story falsely suggested that she had an eating disorder.
Kate Wilson, representing the publisher of the Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers, told a court Thursday the newspaper accepted that Knightley was not responsible for a death, and that Knightley “does not have an eating disorder, and has not misled the public.”
In January, the Daily Mail published a photo of Knightley in a bikini with the headline: “If pictures like this one of Keira carried a health warning, my darling daughter might have lived.” Knightley’s lawyer, Simon Smith, said the article could be interpreted to say that she was personally responsible for the death of Sophie Mazurek, 19, who had suffered from anorexia.
Knightley, who was not in court, intends to donate the settlement to Beat, an eating disorder and mental illness charity.
Los Angeles – Anne Heche wants sole custody of her 5-year-old son, saying her estranged husband is a liar who is trying paint her as a bad mother.
In a Superior Court declaration filed Monday, Heche, 37, said Coleman Laffoon made “heinous false statements” and was not a proper stay-at-home parent.
When their son, Homer, stays with Laffoon in Los Angeles, he sends the boy to preschool or leaves him with nannies and baby sitters while he “plays pingpong, backgammon and poker and views pornography online,” Heche stated.
“He holds a poker game at his home every Thursday night and allows Homer to participate,” Heche contended.
Heche wants a judge to grant her temporary sole custody of Homer and permit him to attend kindergarten this fall near her home in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she films the TV show “Men in Trees.” A call to Laffoon’s attorney, Jon S. Summers, early Thursday was not immediately returned.
In court filings this month, Laffoon claimed Heche left Homer in the care of a procession of nannies in her trailer during visits to Vancouver. He also claimed to be the main caregiver for Homer, while Heche said in her documents that the couple have been alternating time with the boy.
Laffoon and Heche were married Sept. 1, 2001. He filed for divorce Feb. 2, citing irreconcilable differences, and is seeking joint custody and more than $30,000 a month in spousal support.
Heche wants no spousal support awarded.
Las Vegas – The Osmonds will reunite this summer for a TV special celebrating a half-century in the entertainment business.
Seven Osmond siblings – Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy – are scheduled to be onstage Aug. 13-14 at The Orleans Hotel Showroom, publicist Kevin Sasaki said Thursday from Los Angeles.
Tickets for the live shows range from $75 to $125.
The shows will be taped for “The Osmonds 50th Anniversary,” which will air next March on PBS stations.
“At first it was just a tribute to my brothers, but it came together as a celebration of everybody. It’s out of control,” Jimmy Osmond, producer of the special, said Thursday.
“We started so young, you would think 50 years means we’re a bunch of old guys. We aren’t a bunch of old guys,” he said, noting that family members perform frequently before audiences young and old.
New York – Paul McCartney snagged Natalie Portman to star in his new music video – thanks to his fashion designer-daughter, Stella.
Portman, 25, makes a cameo as a ghost in the video for “Dance Tonight,” a track from McCartney’s new studio album, “Memory Almost Full.” The video had its world premiere Wednesday on YouTube.com.
“The connection with Natalie came from my daughter Stella, who makes non-leather shoes that Natalie buys, so I just thought, ‘Well, I’ll ring her up and just see if she’ll do it.’ So I rang her up and said, ‘Hey, I’m Stella’s dad!”‘ the 64-year-old former Beatle said in a statement posted on his website.
Portman, whose screen credits include “Closer” and “V for Vendetta,” plays a “futurist electronic ghost” who is summoned by the sound of McCartney’s mandolin.
Filmmaker Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) directed the video.
“Memory Almost Full,” McCartney’s 21st solo album, will be released June 5 in the United States. It’s his first release for Hear Music, Starbuck Corp.’s new record label.
McCartney last released the acclaimed “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard,” in 2005.
