Jemal Countess/Getty ImagesUPDATE: On Oct. 10, 2012, London's High Court ruled against John, declaring that he was not libelled by the Times, and that neither of the articles (which the court said included only "fleeting" mentions of the singer) could be interpreted as "containing any other meaning defamatory" to the pop star.
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Sir Elton John is no stranger to stirring up a bit of controversy. But his latest beef isn't with a fellow celeb (Hi, Madonna!), it's with an entire publication.
The singer-songwriter has filed a libel lawsuit seeking damages for "the sense of insult and injury" agains the The Times of London over articles that claimed he had committed tax evasion, according to TheWrap.
The Times had claimed in two articles about "the secrets of tax avoiders" that John's former accountant was Ingenious Media's Patrick McKenna and said that McKenna had advised his client to avoid paying taxes. The paper also accused McKenna of advising wealthy British film investors to abuse movie tax breaks.
The publication later issued a correction, stating, "We have been asked to make clear that the film finance partnerships arranged by Ingenious Media, whose CEO is Patrick McKenna, do not offer schemes of this type and they have not been involved in moving money offshore to avoid tax," and said McKenna was never John's accountant. But apparently, that wasn't enough for the music legend.
"The allegations are particularly damaging to the claimant's reputation in the sphere of charity fundraising," William McCormick, the pop star's attorney, said in a statement.
Elton John's rep has not yet returned a request for comment.