Kicking off the legal news of the day, former ‘N SYNC-er Justin Timberlake was awarded a righteous victory as British tabloid News of the World admitted to falsely reporting an affair with a model last July. With a headline reading ‘Trousersnake Did Dirty on Diaz,’ the story alleged that Timberlake, who is in a two-year relationship with Charlie’s Angel Cameron Diaz, cheated with British model Lucy Clarkson. After Clarkson admitted to fabricating the story, Timberlake won a retraction and apology from the publisher; Clarkson was ordered to return the money paid to her for the story. JT’s settlement will reportedly be donated to charity. Timberlake’s triumph over the News of the World completes his and Diaz’ counterattack on the media — just one month ago Diaz successfully sued another tabloid for publishing another infidelity rumor. The burgeoning thespian is currently adding to his screen credits, and has four films on the horizon: Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Killshot, and Diaz co-starrer Shrek 3.
Word has it that Cinderella Man star Russell Crowe, whose infamous phone-throwing incident garnered loads of negative publicity last June, has finally reached a settlement with the hotel employee he injured. According to E! Online, Crowe and Nestor Estrada agreed upon an undisclosed sum, which early speculators had pegged at a whopping $11 million; last Thursday, the New York Daily News had it narrowed to the ‘low six figures.’ Crowe still has to face criminal charges stemming from the attack — second degree assault and possession of a deadly weapon — which could carry up to seven years in prison.
And finally, the New York maid-to-the-stars arrested last June for stealing from clients Candice Bergen and Robert De Niro has spilled her reason for committing her crimes – her bosses treated her poorly. In a preliminary hearing, Lucyna Turyk-Wawrynowicz explained that she lifted the over $100,000 in jewelry and clothing only from ‘people that didn’t treat me with respect.’ According to court documents, she stole from Bergen ($1,000 suede jacket) and De Niro’s wife, Grace Hightower ($96,000 earrings), but not from Isabella Rossellini, who treated her well. Turyk-Wawrynowicz remains in jail, and is facing charges of grand larceny, possession of stolen property, forgery and coercion.
