She may not have Justin any more, but Cameron Diaz does have a "substantial" libel payoff from the National Enquirer to help keep her warm at night.
The Shrek star was awarded a public apology and what her lawyer says were "substantial" damages from London's High Court Friday over an article published on the tabloid's Website.
The Enquirer's story, titled "Cameron Caught Cheating," was published in its U.S. edition and also online in May 2005. The story claimed the Charlie's Angels hottie was "facing a grilling from boyfriend Justin Timberlake—after she was photographed in a passionate clinch with a married man!"
Diaz immediately dispatched her legal minions on the tabloid for libel. Since the site could be accessed from England, it was subject to Britain's celeb-friendly libel laws, paving the way for Friday's ruling.
Diaz's rep said the story was bunk and that the man in the photo was Shane Nickerson, the happily married supervising producer on her MTV adventure show Trippin'.
"Shane is a friend and associate of Cameron's, who works with her on her MTV show, Trippin'," her rep, Brad Cafarelli, said at the time. "He is not a public figure and, because of these lies and misrepresentations, he and his family are being hounded and harassed by the tabloid media. There is absolutely no romantic relationship between them whatsoever, contrary to these sad, mean-spirited attempts to create drama where none exists."
Sam Howard, lawyer for the National Enquirer, issued a mea culpa on behalf of the tabloid Friday, telling the court that his client "entirely accepts that the allegations were without foundation and ought never to have been published."
In a statement on its Website, the tabloid says there is "no question of a romantic relationship between Ms. Diaz and Mr. Nickerson. We are happy to set the record straight and apologize to Ms. Diaz and Mr. Nickerson and his family for any distress involved."
The Enquirer's payout and apology also covers the lawsuit brought in the U.S. by Diaz, Nickerson and his mother-in-law, Jeanne Martin (who claimed she suffered harm after being confronted by a reporter for the tabloid under false pretenses).
Another version of the article was also printed in London's Sun tabloid. Diaz scored separate "undisclosed" damages, as well as a public apology from the paper in July 2005.
Unfortunately for Diaz, the revenge is likely bittersweet. She and Timberlake officially uncoupled last month, ending their three-year relationship. He's allegedly been participating in some "passionate embraces of his own," with reports linking him to such starlets as Jessica Biel and Scarlett Johansson since the breakup.