Jeff Vespa / Getty ImagesIntimates is the name of Elle Macpherson's underwear line—it does not describe her relationship with Brian Burgess, according to the former supermodel.
The Australian beauty has threatened legal action against any media outlet that picks up on the rumor that she and pal Burgess—a convicted drug trafficker who served time Down Under—are anything more than platonic mates.
"Miss Macpherson emphatically denies that there is any romantic association between her and Mr. Brian Burgess," her attorney said in a statement Monday.
She "is disappointed her friendship with Mr. Burgess has been so casually misrepresented for commercial sensationalism. Furthermore Miss Macpherson has a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to her personal life; in the absence of a romantic element, the publication of the photograph and the innuendo created by it is a gross interference of Miss Macpherson's rights."
According to Britain's Daily Telegraph, Burgess was sentenced to four years behind bars after pleading guilty to smuggling cocaine in a pair of boots from the U.S. to Australia.
After completing his sentence, he was deported back to his native England, where he and Macpherson were recently photographed tooling around in her Aston Martin.
Meanwhile, the tabloid News of the World followed up with a report that the two were an item, quoting a source saying that Burgess "had been seeing a new girlfriend for a few weeks…Then Elle turns up in her car. [The source] couldn't believe it."
The father of three spends much of his time counseling people with drug and alcohol addictions, according to the manager of Aussie Man & Van, the repo company Burgess now owns.
But regardless of Burgess' current state of affairs, Macpherson doesn't want anyone getting the wrong idea—and she has the legal camp to prove it.
"Miss Macpherson is aware of Mr. Burgess's past conduct and also that Mr. Burgess has and continues to take significant steps towards restoring his life," her attorney's statement continued.
"Any continued misrepresentation or invasion of privacy is likely to be the subject of legal proceedings."