Posted: 08.02.2010 at 18.34
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to sue News of the World over split story
ANGELINA Jolie and Brad Pitt are suing a British tabloid newspaper for publishing allegations about their relationship.
This follows their legal statement yesterday, which stated they had no intention of ending their relationship, and would consider suing any publications who continued to publish "false allegations".
The pair also put on an unusual show of togetherness at America's biggest sporting event, the Superbowl, sitting in the VIP area with their son Maddox and kissing and hugging their way through the game.
News of the World reported in a story on January 24 that the Hollywood couple would separate and had agreed on the custody of their six children and joint assets worth $319 million.
The couple's lawyer, Keith Schilling, today called the allegations which were republished in media around the world, as "false and intrusive", The BBC reported.
He said News of the World had failed to meet "reasonable demands" for an apology to the couple, and did not retract the story.
A statement from Schillings Lawyers also said that the divorce lawyer, Sorrel Tropse, who reportedly advised Pitt and Jolie, had never met the couple.
"I have had no contact from... Angelina Jolie and / or Brad Pitt," Mr Trope in a letter quoted in the statement.
"I have never met... your clients or had any involvement with either of them. The foregoing is true with respect to all other members of this firm."
Mr Schilling said media outlets that continued to publish false allegations about the couple's relationship status would also face legal action, Sky News reported.
News of the World is yet to comment. It is owned by News Corporation, the parent company of the publisher of the Herald Sun.
Meanwhile, Jolie has visited Haitian children being treated in the neighbouring Dominican Republic after the devastating earthquake in their homeland killed more than 200,000 people.
Oscar-winner Jolie toured the paediatric wing of Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo, a leading local trauma hospital, with its director Hector Quezada, the hospital said on Monday.
Jolie, who serves as a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and UNICEF, was also joined by Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, a son of Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa.
The actress and Brad Pitt donated $US1 million (AUS$1.16 million) to Doctors without Borders in Haiti following the January 12 quake, the worst natural disaster on record in the Americas.