Donatella Versace Goes into the Tabloids-Suing Business

Donatella Versace is certainly not the kind of woman that puts up with the way the media has of distorting facts and sometimes even of putting words in people's mouths; so, it comes as no surprise that she's now literally steaming mad, especially as the whole thing also involves her daughter and heir to the Versace financial empire, Allegra Versace Beck.

Even if her mother usually steals all the limelight for herself, Allegra has had her fair share of media coverage, which became more and more massive in recent months because of her continuous and radical weight loss. In other words, people started talking about how she too had become a victim of the disease that generally affects her mother's models, anorexia. Useless to say, she repeatedly denied the rumors.

But, a couple of days ago, Donnatella released a press statement saying that, indeed, Allegra is and has been suffering of anorexia for many years and that she was finally getting some professional help in that direction. 'Our daughter, Allegra has been battling anorexia, a very serious disease for many years. She is receiving the best medical care possible to help overcome this illness and is responding well. As parents, we are doing our best to protect our daughter. However, due to numerous media reports, we want to let everyone know that we appreciate their concern for Allegra, and we ask that her privacy be respected at this time.', the fashion designer said.

A day later, a couple of international newspapers, among which were also the British 'Evening Standard' and the Italian 'Corriere della Sera', took the story and 'embellished' it a bit more with a couple of quotes, reportedly coming straight from Donatella: 'Anorexia is consuming her... The doctors are doing all they can to snatch her away from this cruel disease.'

The designer was so enraged when she found out about this that she immediately went to see her lawyers and filed a complaint against the two media outlets. Aside from that, she also wanted to make a point with the public by issuing yet another press statement, in which she denies ever having said that. 'Allegra is not at present staying in any hospital, she is living in her private residence and her condition does not cause particular concerns.', she explained.

There is no word yet on how much Donatella is asking for in the suit (meaning money, of course) or of whether she will settle for a mere apology. Equally uncertain is her daughter's condition, but stay tuned here for more.