Hello! apologises to George Clooney over falsely claimed 'exclusive' interview

"Disturbing trend": Mr Clooney said the entire interview had been "fabricated"
Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images
Jamie Bullen3 April 2016
The Weekender

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Hello! Magazine has apologised to Hollywood star George Clooney after publishing an “exclusive” interview that the actor said never took place.

The celebrity UK magazine said it purchased the interview from an entertainment agency but has since discovered many of the quotes were falsely attributed to the actor.

It also said the interview, which has been removed from its website, had been “culled together” from a series of chats over a period of time.

In a statement, the magazine said: “HELLO! Group bought the material in good faith from a trusted independent agent, who assured us it was an authentic one-to-one interview with Mr Clooney, which we now accept was not the case.

“We are shocked and disappointed to discover that the representations that were made to the HELLO! Group at the time of purchase of the material were not, in fact, true.

“We apologise unreservedly to Mr Clooney and his wife Amal for any distress that publication of this piece may have caused them and further apologise for conveying the impression that he had given an exclusive interview to HELLO!”

Mr Clooney described the so-called exclusive, which also appeared on the Evening Standard website, The Sun, Vanity Fair and Marie Claire, as a “disturbing trend”.

He said in a statement: “The problem is that I have not given an interview to Hello Magazine and the quotes attributed to me are not accurate.

“In my experience, being misquoted is not unusual but to have an 'exclusive interview' completely fabricated is something new. And a very disturbing trend."

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