Actress Teri Hatcher wins sex claims libel case

LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. actress Teri Hatcher won
substantial libel damages on Friday from a British newspaper
that alleged she used a camper van outside her home to have sex
with a series of men.

The “Desperate Housewives” star, 41, who first found fame
as Lois Lane in the 1990s television show “The New Adventures
of Superman,” will also receive a public apology from Britain’s
Daily Sport tabloid which published the story.

“I have tolerated many ridiculous and fabricated lies and
gossip in the tabloids,” Hatcher, a Golden Globe winner, said
in a statement after the case was settled at London’s High
Court.

“But when a story appeared about me, insinuating that I am
an irresponsible and neglectful parent, I had to draw the
line.”

Her lawyer David Smith told the court that the article had
appeared in the Sport on July 25 this year under the heading
“Teri’s Passion Wagon.”

The story was accompanied by a picture of a smiling Hatcher
standing next to the van accompanied by the caption: “Tasty
Teri’s old VW (Volkswagen) helps her with her sex drive.”

Smith said Hatcher did own a camper van but that she used
it to take her daughter on holiday.

The paper, known for its sensationalist stories, had agreed
to publish a prominent front-page apology and to pay “very
substantial” damages and to reimburse Hatcher’s full legal
costs, he added. There were no details available of the sums of
money involved.

The Sport’s lawyer David Hirst said the paper was sorry for
the article “which they fully accept was entirely false.”