View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Publishers
  2. Magazines
June 18, 2009

Kate Moss says she is ‘not public figure’ in privacy bid

By Sarah Limbrick

Supermodel Kate Moss has launched a legal bid for £100,000 in privacy damages from IPC Media, the publisher of Now magazine.

She accuses Now of falsely claiming she was pregnant, which she says was an invasion of privacy and misuse of private information.

Her legal action centres around an online story headed: “Kate Moss’s rounded tum fuels pregnancy rumours” which was published on 12 February.

Moss denies that she was pregnant, or that she had told friends she was pregnant, as claimed in the story, and says the information was private and confidential.

In her High Court writ, she says she holds no public office and is not a public figure in any real sense.

She says the information was not related to her professional career but was pre-eminently personal and private

Moss says she has not sought publicity for her private and family life, except when necessary for professional activities, and has always been keen to avoid providing information or details about her personal relationships, and private and family life, to the media.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

She claims Now magazine has unlawfully infringed her right to privacy and respect for her private and family life, and says the celebrity magazine should have known the information was private.

The day the story was published, her solicitors had emailed all editors and managing editors through the Press Complaints Commission, saying the information was private and confidential and would breach the PCC code of conduct.

There was, she says, no legitimate justification for this unwarranted intrusion into her private and family life.

Moss also complains that the magazine contravened the Data Protection Act 1988 and says data about her was not processed fairly or lawfully.

Moss argues that she suffered considerable distress and embarrassment, and says the magazine profited at her expense.

She says Now magazine failed to publish the claims without checking with her, and invented a story that she and her boyfriend Jamie Hince had told retail magnate Sir Philip Green their news at a celebratory dinner.

Moss is seeking damages and aggravated damages, or an account of profits, and compensation under the Data Protection Act 1998.

She also seeks an injunction banning the magazine from repeating the allegations at the centre of her claim.

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network