Diaz Sues Enquiring Minds

Despite a breathless National Enquirer story to the contrary, Cameron Diaz wants the world to know she didn't have a fling with a producer of her new MTV travel show. But now she is hooking up with the man--to sue the tabloid.

Diaz and her Trippin' producer Shane Nickerson have followed through on threats and filed a $30 million-plus lawsuit Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court accusing the Enquirer of a host of misdeeds, chiefly slander and libel, for running an exclamation-happy cover story in its May 23 issue bearing the headline "Cameron Caught Cheating...World Exclusive! 25 Photos That Will Shock You! Hot Kisses with a Married Guy! What Will She Tell Justin?"

The decidedly nonshocking spread features grainy photos of the Shrek star embracing the nonfamous Nickerson, who's married with a year-old daughter. The accompanying story described the hug as a "passionate clinch" in broad daylight with Justin Timberlake nowhere to be found.

Per the new suit, the Enquirer "colluded with a paparazzo and others to create a fictional and fabricated story."

The suit says the "photos were distorted, mischaracterized, misrepresented and manipulated in order to change the events shown in the photos, through the use of defamatory lies and insinuations...from an innocent, insignificant and nonmemorable occurrence involving coworkers and friends, to a sensationalistic, scandalous and accusatory story which was completely false."

To make matters worse, say Diaz and Nickerson, the Enquirer "proceeded to weave that fabricated scenario into a larger story about plaintiffs Diaz and Nickerson having been engaged in a secret, illicit shocking, adulterous affair, cheating on their partners and finally being 'caught' on film."

Diaz's publicist, Brad Cafarelli says the Enquirer story completely trashed the "reputations, professions and personal lives" of Diaz, Nickerson and the third plaintiff, Jeanne Martin, Nickerson's mother-in-law.

Cafarelli says in a statement that the tabloid "hounded, harassed and lied to Diaz and Nickerson's friends, acquaintances, business associates and family members." Most notably Martin, a teacher who was pulled from her class for what she believed was an emergency--but turned out to be an Enquirer reporter peppering her with "lies and innuendo about her daughter's marriage." The impromptu Q&A session caused Martin "severe physical and emotional distress," according to the lawsuit.

For its part, the Enquirer refutes the allegations. "We stand by our reporting, and we'll defend this lawsuit aggressively," the tab says in a statement.

Aside from the tabloid, defendants include the article's two bylined writers, Robin Mizrahi and Lee Hannon, the photographer, Oscar Duran, and an Enquirer reporter named Alexander Hitchen, who confronted Martin.

The 25-page complaint accuses the Enquirer and its minions of slander, libel, commercial misappropriation of names and likeness "by the use of fiction masquerading as fact" and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and seeks more than $30 million in damages.

Last month, Diaz's London-based law firm, Schillings, launched a similar suit against Britain's Sun for running a similar allegation and the same batch of decidedly nonshocking photos.

Nickerson, who has chronicled his diary of a nonaffair on his blog, has termed the Enquirer article a "ludicrous story."

It's not the first time the tabloids have apparently gotten it wrong when it comes to Diaz and Timberlake's love life. Timberlake hired Schillings to represent him in a libel lawsuit last summer against London's News of the World for a story claiming he cheated on Diaz with a British model.

The lawsuit hasn't deterred the publication from concocting stories on the couple. Earlier this month, the News of the World reported that Diaz and Timberlake planned to wed in secret in France last month--a rumor that proved to be false.

On a less titillating note, the singer will be teaming up with Diaz for a role in Shrek 3.