LOS ANGELES — Actress Katie Holmes filed a lawsuit seeking $50 million from Star magazine for publishing a cover hinting the actress was a drug addict, TMZ reported Tuesday.
The gossip tabloid went to press in January with a photo of an exhausted-looking Holmes on the cover with the headline “ADDICTION NIGHTMARE – Katie DRUG SHOCKER! – The Real Reason She Can’t Leave Tom.”
The corresponding article did not actually allege that Holmes was addicted to drugs but claimed the wife of superstar Tom Cruise has attended Scientology sessions where an “e-meter,” said to measures electrical resistance and allegedly reflects past emotional experiences, is used.
Star’s January issue was the tabloid’s latest perspective on Holmes’ so-called “tortured life.” In December, the magazine claimed Holmes was “fed-up” with her marriage and had separated from Cruise, 48. In October, it said the couple’s marriage contract had collapsed and the two were sparring over custody of their four-year-old daughter Suri.
“Star Magazine’s malicious claims about Katie are untrue, unethical and unlawful. Not only do they cruelly defame Katie, they play a cheap trick on the public, making ridiculously false claims on the cover unsupported by anything inside,” a rep for the former “Dawson’s Creek” star told TMZ.
The 32-year-old actress is seeking $50 million in damages from American Media Inc., the parent company of Star magazine.
American Media also publishes the tabloid National Enquirer and the gossip website Radar Online.