The Celebrity Truth

Actor Nicolas Cage has settled a libel lawsuit against Kathleen Turner in a London court, after Turner falsely claimed in her autobiography that Cage had been arrested for drunken driving and had once stolen a dog.

The claims made by Turner, 53, appeared in her book, ‘Send Yourself Roses’, and were also published in London newspaper the Daily Mail in February.

Turner stated that Cage was "arrested twice for drunk-driving and, I think, for stealing a dog. He’d come across a Chihuahua he liked and stuck it in his jacket." The allegations were based on the experiences Turner had on set with Cage, now 44, while they co-starred in the 1986 hit movie ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’.

Cage’s lawyer, Simon Smith, dismissed the claims as "utter falsity", and said they had "caused damage to the claimant’s personal and professional reputation".

In a statement read by her lawyer on Friday in a London courtroom, Turner "sincerely apologized" to Cage.

Turner and her book’s publisher, Headline Publishing Group, and Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers have agreed to reimburse Cage for court costs and to make a donation to a charity, National Adult Protective Services Foundation, which benefits victims of elder abuse. Headline Publishing Group will also place an apology or correction in the book, and Associated Newspapers has agreed to remove the article from its website and to publish an apology.

Neither of the stars attended the hearing at Britain’s High Court.

NEXT: LA Times Retracts Controversial Tupac Shooting Story

Photo courtesy of Beacon Communications. 

•