Scarlett Johansson is threatening to sue Cosmopolitan’s UK edition, claiming the magazine featured made-up quotes in a cover story.
The 24-year-old actress appears on the front of the January edition of Cosmopolitan next to a coverline that reads: “Scarlett: Why I had to get married”.
Scarlett is quoted in the article, about her marriage to actor Ryan Reynolds, as saying: “Ryan and I are in love and we’re enjoying our relationship together”, and “We’re like any other couple – we feel so fortunate to be together”.
But her publicist, Marcel Pariseau, describes the quotes as “absolutely fabricated”.
He told The Guardian that the star will sue the magazine unless the article is retracted.
“We’re waiting to see what [Cosmopolitan’s] response is. But we are speaking to our lawyers and if it’s not rectified we plan to take legal action.
“Ms Johansson has at no point granted UK Cosmopolitan an interview, and she has never discussed her personal relationships with the publication.
“The cover story is an obvious attempt by UK Cosmopolitan to gain monetarily by misinforming their readers. Ms Johansson … is disappointed to see a seemingly reputable publication inexplicably publish a work of fiction at her expense.”
Cosmopolitan, owned by the National Magazine Company, told Pariseau the quotes were bought from the London agency Hot Features.
The company said: “UK Cosmopolitan printed an interview with Scarlett Johansson that included quotes from an agency journalist regarding the actress’s marriage. We ran these quotes in good faith with the understanding that the interview was carried out with the approval of Ms Johansson and her publicist.”
