Updated at 11:20 am PST and Updated with Lawsuit at 12:13 pm PST:
Katie Holmes has sued American Media Inc., owner of the Star tabloid, for libel, and is seeking damages of $50 million.
The lawsuit, over a cover suggesting that the actress used drugs, was filed in federal court in Los Angeles. (Read the full lawsuit here.)
Star's "vicious lies about plaintiff, designed to hype the sale of its sleazy tabloid magazine, were calculated to cause severe harm," reads the lawsuit, obtained by TheWrap. "The average reader (would) understand that plaintiff has become shockingly addicted to drugs... There is no other way to understand them. The cover even created the false impression that, but for plaintiff's nightmare drug addiction, she would 'leave' her husband."
In a statement, AMI said it stood behind the story.
The cover featured a photo (left) of Holmes looking worn and sad, with the cover line: “ADDICTION NIGHTMARE - Katie DRUG SHOCKER! The real reason she can’t leave Tom.”
Inside, the magazine backs off the claim of addiction, citing incidents in which Holmes joins Scientology sessions where an "e-meter" is used. An electrical measuring instrument used in the controversial group’s auditing sessions, the e-meter allegedly measures electrical resistance and allegedly reflects past emotional experiences.
The article states that the e-meter might release endorphins, "hormones that cause a pain-killing, mood-elevating effect."
A Scientology member is quoted as saying about using the e-meter, "Like a heroin addict, you want another dose."
An attorney for Holmes told TheWrap that while tabloid slurs are common, this one crossed the line. "We see these tabloids every week," said attorney Aaron Moss of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman and Machtinger. "They’ve been attacking her and her husband for years now, and she finally said, 'Enough is enough'. She wants to stand up for her legal rights. This is such an outrageous statement, this idea that this loving mother is on drugs, or suffering an addiction nightmare – there’s not a shred of truth to it."
TheWrap first reported the news of the impending lawsuit on Tuesday morning.
Proving libel is difficult in U.S. courts. The plaintiff must prove defamation occurred, and that injury to their reputation happened as a result. In the case of celebrities, it's even harder; Holmes must prove that the magazine acted with malice, and knew that it was publishing false information.
"Here it's beyond doubt that they knew it was false," said Moss. "There's no support inside the article to substantiate the attention-grabbing headline."
The lawsuit was preceded by a demand for a retraction from Moss, citing many of the same offenses as are in the lawsuit.
In response, counsel for AMI wrote "with all due respect, Star declines your demand... It is not defamatory to state that a person is addicted to the 'feeling of a natural high,'" he wrote.
