14 DAY TRIAL // Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t like to draw attention to himself, even explaining in an interview some time ago that he didn’t want to be a celebrity because that would chip away at his credibility as an actor. However, when he believes the line has been crossed, he will not hesitate to take action.
In what must be a first for him, DiCaprio is taking the French tabloid Oops to court over a story they published in May this year, according to which he had gotten his rumored girlfriend Rihanna pregnant and didn’t care if she kept the baby or not.
DiCaprio wants damages, formal apology and retraction
Gossip Cop has obtained the court documents filed by DiCaprio’s legal team, in which he mentions seeing the magazine while in Cannes for the Film Festival. You can see a photo of the cover of the issue in question attached to this article.
The headline reads “Rihanna Pregnant with Leonardo’s Baby: He Doesn’t Want The Baby,” and attributes the story to a “scoop” of the magazine.
The actor is seeking maximum compensation for the false story, which is of €18,000 ($20,000), a formal apology and a retraction, and for the magazine to pay his legal fees. If he doesn’t get the retraction and the apology, he wants €10,000 ($11,202) more.
Moreover, he’s citing France’s strict privacy laws in his favor, saying that Oops had no right to publish 2 paparazzi photos of him on the street or to speculate on his personal life.
Owner admits the story was fake, is shocked DiCaprio is going after them
Clearly, the story of the pregnancy wasn’t true. In fact, according to buzz online, Leo and Rihanna were never an item, despite countless rumors saying they were together for a short while.
That the actor is taking a stand with a publication outside the US, when back home he’s often featured in the tabloids with stories of the kind, has managed to surprise even one of the Oops owners, Frederick Truskolaski.
He admits that he knew the scoop on the pregnancy was false and that he had doubts as to whether Rihanna and Leo were together. “We thought she might be [pregnant]. We were not sure, of course. [But] why is he doing this?,” he says.
Truskolaski knows he will lose the case and that he will be forced to pay for the lie Oops printed. He doesn’t say whether they have any intention of apologizing and / or issuing a retraction, but he’s convinced they will manage to get away with a much lower fine than the one DiCaprio is going for.