Oops

Actor Max Beesley has accepted substantial undisclosed libel damages over a claim that he tried to line up three women to have sex with.

The 37-year-old star of TV's Hotel Babylon was not at the High Court for the settlement of his action against Popbitch Ltd., which circulates a weekly celebrity gossip email to 360,000 people.

His solicitor, Jenny Afia, said that issue 370 in October 2007 alleged that, while at a TV industry party in Cannes, Beesley tried to line up the women, and asked one woman, who said she was not interested in having sex, to go away so that he could find someone else.

"This story was totally untrue," she told Mr Justice Eady in London.

She said that the actor requested via his solicitors that Popbitch correct the position immediately with an apology and damages and, when this was not met, had no option but to commence proceedings.

Popbitch had now accepted that the allegations were totally untrue, and had agreed to publish an apology as well as pay substantial damages and Beesley's costs.

Popbitch's solicitor, James Quartermaine, said that it sincerely apologised for the embarrassment caused by the defamatory article, which it fully accepted was false.

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Old Bailey Online

A useful genealogical resource, if you think your ancestors might have been up in front of the Old Bailey!

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London 1674 to 1834

A fully searchable online edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.

2007 :: Comment / reply

RE: DARKSIDED!!!

I live in Seattle (geographically, just about as far away from this woman's home as one can get and still be within the US), and we're as dumbfounded by this display as you are. It frightens me to think that this woman votes, but at least I can now understand how Bush has won two terms in the White House. The Republican Party convinces these unthinking zealots that Republicans=Christians and Democrats=godless heathens, homosexuals, and other deviants (dark-siders, in her parlance). End of discussion -- she votes Republican, regardless of the fact that Republicans' policies hurt lower-middle class folks like her family. BTW, the littlest girl standing with her mouth agape is crazy lady's granddaughter. Crazy's daughter got pregnant at age 16 and they all live in the crazy household together. Nothing "dark-sided" about that, though.

The whole show's worth watching. They sent Crazy up to Massachusetts to live with a new-agey family, and sent spacey new-agey hypnotherapist mom down to Louisiana to stay with Crazy's family. If I recall my colonial history correctly, Massachusetts was not particularly tolerant of witches, so if the new-agers really are "dark-sided", you'd think that they'd choose somewhere else to call their home. Perhaps Crazy thought she'd be safe in the historic home of religious zealots.

Whenever Crazy encountered something that didn't fit in with her carefully circumscribed world, she dismissed it as "dark-sided". Highlights:

--Crazy's shock at seeing a large 5-foot tall wooden star that the new-agers were using as a Xmas decoration (she assumed it was for witchcraft or Satan worship)

--Crazy running out into the yard to vomit when she smells an "evil smell" in the kitchen that nobody else can smell.

--Crazy refusing to make a wish and throw a piece of incense into the pyre at a summer solstice party -- a little cheesy, perhaps, but also innocuous. Or, if you ask Crazy, it's "dark-sided".

--Crazy claims that she talks to (and hears from) God on a daily basis. When new-age family invites her to participate in their national call-in radio show on relationships, she freaks out when they bring in a professional psychic. He is quite effeminate, very soft-spoken and polite, and is wearing a big cross because he's a Christian. Crazy blows a gasket and stomps out of the studio, demanding to be taken to a church. Why is it that, when she hears messages from God, it's holy and sacred, but when this poor fellow receives messages (perhaps also from God, since he considers himself a Christian), it's -- you guessed it -- "DARK SIDED!". Of course, if the guy was really a good psychic, he should have anticipated her reaction to his presence. :)

--Crazy's friends down in Louisiana have a lunch party where they interrogate new-agey lady. Within 2 minutes, they're asking "Do you believe in God?" When she says "yes", they follow up with "do you believe in God, or some magic powerful thing?" They also ask "Are you a Christian?". Within a couple of minutes, they've determined that she's not a Christian and will be going to Hell. That puts a bit of a damper on the proceedings.

--The letter Crazy is ripping up in this clip is a note from new-agey mom deciding how to spend the $50,000 each family is given.

The whole show is a disturbing display of narrow-mindedness. When new-agey dude suggests that Crazy stop to think about anything that doesn't fit in with her Christian beliefs, she accuses him of trying to drag her over to the dark side.

Yank :: 20 Feb :: 2006 :: Comment / reply