(Crazy)
Leonardo DiCaprio is now suing another French magazine, Crazy!, for alleging on its cover that he and Rihanna will be “living together,” Gossip Cop is exclusively reporting. The actor is seeking 10,000 Euros (around $11,225) for invasion of privacy and damages, and another 3,000 Euros ($3,370) for legal fees from Crazy!, which is owned by Frederic Truskolaski, the same publisher DiCaprio successfully sued earlier in the month for alleging on the cover of Oops! magazine that he impregnated Rihanna, but wanted nothing to do with their supposed baby.
According to court papers exclusively obtained by Gossip Cop, DiCaprio is once again seeking, under French law, to “stop the illegal exploitation of his name, his image, reputation and privacy for commercial ends.” After noting how Truskolaski was previously ordered to pay DiCaprio 8,000 Euros ($8,900) in damages for the Oops! cover story, the new lawsuit states, “the same is true” of the rights to privacy and images in the Crazy! case, which features photos of the two celebrities and claims they’re moving in together.
The issue is not whether the “living together” allegation is defamatory (or even accurate). The latest suit notes that under French law everyone is guaranteed “regardless of his fame, his fortune, his functions present or future, respect for one’s private life and image,” and that no personal information can be published nor photos reproduced that “have not been supplied voluntarily by the parties.”
Irrespective of the accuracy of the claim that Rihanna and DiCaprio will be “living together” (which they are not), unlike in the U.S., simply reporting about them is a “wrongful intrusion into the protected sphere of their privacy,” reads the lawsuit. The court action further claims the Crazy! cover story is the “height of bad faith” because DiCaprio has already “denied a romantic relationship, which the magazine refuses to admit.”
In addition to seeking damages and legal fees, DiCaprio’s legal team has asked, much like in the ruling in the Oops! case, that the next cover of Crazy! publish in big letters that the magazine has been “condemned by request of Leonardo DiCaprio.”
Crazy! owner Truskolaski rhetorically asks, “Why is Leonardo not suing all the U.S. websites that have talked about his relationship to Rihanna?” A lawyer for the magazine tells Gossip Cop he feels the laws in France are too stringent, because it’s not a matter of libel there. “French law is more protective on privacy matters, making it easier to sue.”
Perhaps that’s why DiCaprio is suing Crazy! for printing he and Rihanna will be “living together” and not for the more explosive previous verbal claim by Truskolaski that he only sued Oops! because “he could not stand the fact that our magazine was saying he was having a baby with a black girl.”
DiCaprio’s rep and France-based lawyer have not responded to a request for comment.
