George Clooney News Update: Hello! Magazine Apologizes to Clooney After Fabricated Interview Attracts Ire
In an unprecedented gaffe of serious proportions, the prestigious magazine Hello! has been accused of publishing an interview with A-list actor George Clooney which was completely fabricated.
The magazine's credibility has taken a huge blow even though CBS 46 reports that a genuine and sincere-sounding apology has been delivered to George Clooney and his wife, Amal Alamuddin.
The magazine claims that the fabricated interview was purchased from a 'trusted' source who did not work exclusively for them. They expressed shock and regret at the gaffe and admitted that the article appears to have been put together after combining information gathered from various earlier interviews while the quotes attributed to the star are completely fictitious. The magazine suffered further embarrassment as the feature was claimed to be 'exclusive' when its contents were not genuine or even verified.
The actor himself criticized the magazine for publishing the interview as he found it disturbing and unprofessional as per reports. He also expressed agitation over the fact that other important magazines such as Vanity Fair, The Evening Standard, Marie Claire and The Sun have used the fabricated material leading to mass reprinting of false information regarding his personal life.
The quotes falsely attributed to the star contained details of the Clooneys' long-distance relationship and his thoughts regarding his wife's red carpet appeal. To the couple, who is famous for keeping their private affairs under very tight wraps, this proved to be agitating and disturbing. Clooney has faced a similar issue when news regarding his engagement was made public. The actor had called out journalists from The Daily Mail who had reported that his mother-in-law, Baria Alamuddin, opposed the wedding on religious grounds.
Criticizing magazines that had used the fabricated information, Clooney stated that this was beginning to become a dangerous trend. While the magazine has published its apology, the question remains if magazines should face so little retribution after publishing information without even verifying its source.