Daily Mail Apologizes to George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin's Families, Removes Article From Its Website

"We only became aware of Mr. Clooney's concerns this morning and have launched a full investigation," MailOnline says

Will George Clooney accept The Daily Mail's apology, or is it too little, too late?

The actor wrote an op-ed for USA Today, published just after midnight Wednesday, lambasting the tabloid for posting an article claiming that his future mother-in-law is opposed to his upcoming marriage to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin due to her religious beliefs. "We have family members all over the world," the two-time Academy Award and two-time Emmy Award winner wrote, "and the idea that someone would inflame any part of that world for the sole reason of selling papers should be criminal."

"The Daily Mail, more than any other organization that calls itself news, has proved time and time again that facts make no difference in the articles they make up," said Clooney, who proposed to the human rights lawyer earlier this spring. "And when they put my family and my friends in harm's way, they cross far beyond just a laughable tabloid and into the arena of inciting violence. They must be so very proud."

NBC London received an apologetic statement from the publication shortly after Clooney's went viral.

"The MailOnline story was not a fabrication but supplied in good faith by a reputable and trusted freelance journalist. She based her story on conversations with a long standing contact who has strong connections with senior members of the Lebanese community in the U.K. and the Druze in Beirut," the organization said. "We only became aware of Mr. Clooney's concerns this morning and have launched a full investigation. However, we accept Mr. Clooney's assurance that the story is inaccurate and we apologize to him, Miss Amal Alamuddin and her mother, Baria, for any distress caused."

The Daily Mail took it a step further and vowed to make amends to the acclaimed actor. "We have removed the article from our website and will be contacting Mr. Clooney's representatives to discuss giving him the opportunity to set the record straight," the publication said in a statement Wednesday.

(E! and NBC London are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)