Kate Beckinsale Wins Libel Award

Canada

Kate Beckinsale Wins Libel Award

Thu., Jul. 9, 2009 7:59 AM PDT by Josh Grossberg

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for VH1

Kate Beckinsale wanted nothing but the truth and now she finally got it.

The Underworld star won approximately $32,000 in damages and an apology from a U.K. tabloid over what it admitted were false claims that she was fired from a remake of the 1968 Jane Fonda hit Barbarella.

Per the Guardian, as part of a settlement with Beckinsale in London's High Court, the Daily Express acknowledged that it fabricated the story and caused the 35-year-old actress considerable embarrassment by suggesting she was "facing heartbreak" after losing out on the iconic part to fellow thespian Rose McGowan and that her career "was in decline."

The report, published on the paper's website, also stated that the new version of Roger Vadim's campy sci-fi flick was "expected to be a big commercial hit, so it will be a real blow to Kate."

In actuality, Beckinsale's camp claimed in court papers that she was never in talks for the Barbarella role and had no intention of being involved in the project, so any article to the contrary was all a lie.

"This article wrongly gave the impression that the claimant's career is in decline, which would undoubtedly have a knock-on effect on those who would be casting film roles, as well as the industry as a whole," her lawyer, Graham Atkins, told the court.

Beckinsale did not attend today's settlement hearing. But the tabloid's parent company, Express Newspapers, not only agreed to pony up the mea culpa and damages but also pay all legal fees as well.

The Pearl Harbor pinup returns to the big screen this fall in the crime thriller Whiteout, after which she'll team up with Robert De Niro in the comedy drama Everybody's Fine.