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The bizarre case of whether the film star Nicolas Cage stole a chihuahua was resolved yesterday when the Hollywood actress Kathleen Turner, a former co-star, accepted her dog-napping accusation had been unfair.
The two had ended up in an acrimonious libel dispute over claims in the 53-year-old actress's biography that he had twice been arrested for drink-driving and had stolen a dog.
Neither was at the High Court in London yesterday to hear Cage's solicitor, Simon Smith, tell Mr Justice Eady of the "utter falsity" of the allegations in Send Yourself Roses: Thoughts on My Life, Love and Leading Roles.
He said that an extract of the book, which appeared in the Daily Mail in January, described their experience of working together on the 1986 film Peggy Sue Got Married.
Turner claimed that her co-star was "arrested twice for drunk driving and, I think, for stealing a dog. He'd come across a chihuahua he liked and stuck it in his jacket."
Mr Smith said that Turner, Associated Newspapers and Headline Publishing Group now accepted that - owing to a mistake on the actress's part, and despite the other defendants publishing in good faith - the allegations were defamatory and false and ought never to have been published.
They personally apologised for the damage caused to Cage's personal and professional reputation and for the considerable distress and embarrassment.
They had, the court heard, agreed to reimburse all his legal costs and make a substantial donation to the National Adult Protective Services Association, a charity that benefits elderly or vulnerable adult victims of abuse.
Mr Smith said the defendants had also given a contractual undertaking never to republish the allegations, as well as insert a correction and apology in the book. The Daily Mail had agreed to print an apology and remove the article from its websites.
Jane Phillips, counsel for the defendants, said they sincerely apologised and accepted that the allegations were false.
Outside court, Mr Smith said: "My client is extremely pleased with the outcome, which sets the record straight. As an actor who stars in many family-friendly films and who has a young child and teenager of his own, Mr Cage was understandably upset at having wrongly been depicted as condoning that sort of reckless, dangerous and criminal behaviour.
"Mr Cage is gratified that the defendants have done the right thing by acknowledging their errors and making amends."
Peggy Sue Got Married, which tells the story of a woman on the verge of divorce who finds herself transplanted back to her school days, was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and earned Turner an Oscar nomination for best actress.
- INDEPENDENT
