Hoff Threatens to Hassle U.K. Tabloid
David Hasselhoff wasn't too happy to see the Sun this week.
The former Baywatch star might be gearing up for another courtroom battle in light of a recent item in the British tabloid which stated that the recovering alcoholic got loaded at a Hollywood club Friday night, hours after being awarded sole legal custody and primary physical custody of his two daughters.
Hasselhoff's rep, Judy Katz, confirmed to E! News that the actor wants a "prominent apology" for printing the article, which showed up under the headline "David's Back on the Sway," or else he'll seriously consider legal action.
"Mr. Hasselhoff emphatically denies the allegations," Katz said in a statement. If the Sun doesn't 'fess up and apologize, "proceedings will begin next week in London's High Court for defamation of character, and there will be a jury trial in 2008, at which time he looks forward to clearing his name."
Winning libel damages in the U.K. is far easier than it is in the States because the burden of proving that an item is true is placed on the defendant. Here, plaintiffs must prove that publications intended to publish falsities or showed reckless disregard for the truth.
The report that Hasselhoff got his drink on at celebrity hotspot Les Deux has since been removed from the Sun's Website, with the Brits apparently deciding that hassling the Hoff isn't worth the trouble. (Or so the T-shirt on sale at Urban Outfitters reading "Don't Hassle the Hoff" and his recently published memoir suggest.)
Not that the America's Got Talent judge isn't one for a night out on the town.
Speaking to E! News' Ryan Seacrest this week, Hasselhoff said that, yes, he was at Les Deux that night, but that any reports saying he was under the influence and had to be escorted out are pure "garbage."
"The one night I'm out drinking Rock Stars and Red Bulls, I'm on the phone with attorneys the next day," he said.
Ex-wife Pamela Bach was in court Tuesday looking to increase her child and spousal support payments, but the bitterest days of Hasselhoff's increasingly nasty year-long fight over their kids seems to be behind him.
A Los Angeles judge ruled that 14-year-old Hayley and 17-year-old Taylor should live with him, with Bach getting visits every other weekend and on Wednesday evenings. His lawyer told E! News that day, however, that his client said that the girls could see their mom whenever they wish.
Hasselhoff described the ruling to Seacrest as a "bittersweet victory more than anything."
"My kids just want to move on. They love their day, they love their mom, and they just want to move on. I've learned a lot from them," he said. "The wonderful thing was the judge. The judge was so complimentary of how honest and how wonderful my children are…So it was kind of a bittersweet Father's Day in a way, because it happened—but it's part of life."
As for the tape, shot by Taylor, showing him drunkenly sitting on the floor of his Las Vegas hotel room that was leaked to TMZ, eventually prompting the judge to suspend his visitation privileges for two weeks in May:
"When the tape came out—that wasn't supposed to come out," Hasselhoff said. "That was a private moment, and a private moment like that in anyone's life should never be exploited like that, especially if your children are involved."
As part of his ruling last week, the judge also ordered Hasselhoff to continue to undergo alcohol testing, to ensure that his kids' now-primary caregiver was staying off the sauce.
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