Celebrity
gossip weekly Star has published an apology to Robbie Williams
(pictured) following a story claiming the singer had a secret gay fling
in his Take That days.
The Northern & Shell title is due to
pay Williams “substantial damages and costs” for the September 2004
piece, according to a retraction published in last Friday’s magazine.
Star
said it offered Williams “unreserved apologies” over the story, which
claimed he had had a sexual encounter with a man in the toilets at the
Hacienda club in Manchester when he was still singing with Take That,
and that he later made a pass at the same man in a different club in
the city.
The apology, printed in the magazine’s news and gossip
pages with the headline “Sorry Robbie”, added: “The article suggested
that while Mr Williams had told all about his female conquests in his
autobiography, he was keeping his homosexual encounters secret.
“We now accept that Mr Williams was never involved in any incidents of this kind and that these allegations are untrue.
“We
also accept that he is not and never has been homosexual, and that he
did not attempt to conceal his true sexuality in his autobiography.”
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
