<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="time" canonical="https://time.com/2974971/george-clooney-amal-alamuddin-daily-mail-apology/" -->

---
description: The actor has rebuffed the Daily Mail&#x27;s apology over a story that claimed Alamuddin’s mother preferred she marry someone else.
title: George Clooney Rejects Apology Over &#x27;Daily Mail&#x27; Amal Alamuddin Story
image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e91bbf62bbd96ff/69869b5e13c79fa40419309e/492909521.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
---

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e91bbf62bbd96ff/69869b5e13c79fa40419309e/492909521.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)

* [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/)  
## Entertainment  

Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/)  
Close
* [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/)  
## celebrities  

Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/)  
Close

# George Clooney Rejects the _Daily Mail_’s Apology Over Amal Alamuddin


by 

[Stephanie Burnett](/author/stephanie-burnett/)


## Stephanie Burnett


Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/)

Close

Jul 11, 2014 8:43 AM CUT

![Omega Le Jardin Secret Dinner Party](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e91bbf62bbd96ff/69869b5e13c79fa40419309e/492909521.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

Actor George Clooney arrives for the red carpet of Omega Le Jardin Secret dinner party on May 16, 2014 in Shanghai, China.

Actor George Clooney arrives for the red carpet of Omega Le Jardin Secret dinner party on May 16, 2014 in Shanghai, China.ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

by 

[Stephanie Burnett](/author/stephanie-burnett/)


## Stephanie Burnett


Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/)

Close

Jul 11, 2014 8:43 AM CUT

Actor George Clooney has [rejected](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/07/11/exclusive-george-clooney-wont-accept-mail-apology/12484495/ "undefined") the _Daily Mail_’s apology over a story in which the tabloid claimed the Lebanese mother of his fiancée opposed their marriage — and preferred that she be married to a member of the Druze religious group.

The small Druze community is found mostly in Lebanon, Syria and Israel. While their monotheistic faith stems from a branch of Shi‘ite Islam, it has adopted teachings from a number of other religions, including Judaism, Christianity and Gnosticism.

The Oscar-winning actor [previously slammed](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/07/09/george-clooney-daily-mail-exclusive-statement-response/12368061/ "undefined") the _Mail_’s article about the family’s attitude to his engagement to Amal Alamuddin, saying the story was “completely fabricated” and exploited “religious differences where none exist.”

“It says Amal’s mother has been telling ‘half of Beirut’ that she’s against the wedding. It says they joke about traditions in the Druze religion that end up with the death of the bride. Let me repeat that: the death of the bride,” wrote Clooney.

On Wednesday the British tabloid (sort of) apologized. The _Mail_’s statement started by denying Clooney’s fabrication claims and added that the story was based on a trusted journalist’s conversations with a long-standing contact who has strong Lebanese connections. But the statement closed with, “However, we accept Mr. Clooney’s assurance that the story is inaccurate and we apologize.”

Today, Clooney rebuffed the apology in _USA Today_, saying that the _Mail_ knew ahead of time that it was not telling the truth. He referred to the tabloid’s [April article](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2614827/The-rise-woman-soon-Mrs-George-Clooney.html "undefined") that said Alamuddin’s father, a professor, had married outside the Druze faith and that her mother, a journalist, was not a Druze member. Both of Alamuddin’s parents are originally from Beirut.

“What separates this from all of the ridiculous things the _Mail_ makes up is that now, by their own admission, it can be proved to be a lie. In fact, a premeditated lie,” wrote Clooney.

“So I thank the _Mail_ for its apology. Not that I would ever accept it, but because in doing so they’ve exposed themselves as the worst kind of tabloid,” he said.

\[[_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/07/11/exclusive-george-clooney-wont-accept-mail-apology/12484495/ "undefined")\]

```json
[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2974971/george-clooney-amal-alamuddin-daily-mail-apology/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2974971/george-clooney-amal-alamuddin-daily-mail-apology/"},"headline":"George Clooney Rejects the Daily Mail’s Apology Over Amal Alamuddin","datePublished":"2014-07-11T08:43:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:05:31.148Z","description":"George Clooney is not one to forgive and forget. Not when it comes to his fiancée Amal Alamuddin, anyway","url":"https://time.com/2974971/george-clooney-amal-alamuddin-daily-mail-apology/","keywords":["celebrities","George Clooney","amal alamuddin"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e91bbf62bbd96ff/69869b5e13c79fa40419309e/492909521.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Stephanie Burnett","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/stephanie-burnett/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e91bbf62bbd96ff/69869b5e13c79fa40419309e/492909521.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Omega Le Jardin Secret Dinner Party","caption":"Omega Le Jardin Secret Dinner Party","creditText":"ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2974971/george-clooney-amal-alamuddin-daily-mail-apology/","name":"George Clooney Rejects the Daily Mail’s Apology Over Amal Alamuddin"}}]}]
```
