Apology from ‘Daily Mail’ over Clooney story

Britain’s Daily Mail has apologised to actor George Clooney for alleging his fiancée’s mother opposed the marriage on religious grounds — a story he called both wrong and irresponsible.

Clooney is engaged to Beirut-born London lawyer Amal Alamuddin, who comes from a family of Druse, adherents of a monotheistic religion based mainly in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.

Citing unnamed family “friends”, the newspaper’s MailOnline website this week reported that her mother, Baria Alamuddin, wanted her 36-year-old daughter to marry a Druse man.

It said Amal Alamuddin risked being “cast out of the community” if she wed Clooney, and claimed several women had been murdered for not abiding by strict Druse rules.

Clooney called the story “completely fabricated”.

In a statement issued to USA Today, he said Baria Alamuddin was not Druse and “is in no way against the marriage”.

Clooney, 53, added that “to exploit religious differences where none exist is at the very least negligent and more appropriately dangerous”.

“We have family members all over the world, and the idea that someone would inflame any part of that world for the sole reason of selling papers should be criminal,” he said, accusing the paper of “inciting violence”.

The newspaper yesterday said the story had been “supplied in good faith by a reputable and trusted freelance journalist”.

“We accept Mr Clooney’s assurance that the story is inaccurate and we apologise to him, Miss Amal Alamuddin and her mother, Baria, for any distress caused,” it said in a statement. It said it had removed the article from the website “and will be contacting Mr Clooney’s representatives to discuss giving him the opportunity to set the record straight”.

The Druse are a close-knit community and rarely marry outside their sect. But some Druse have welcomed Clooney.

Walid Jumblatt, political leader of the sect in Lebanon, said recently that he hoped the couple would soon visit the Druse heartland.

Clooney will bring us “great publicity”, Jumblatt said. “He can make a movie about the Druse sect.”