Star accepts libel payout
Actress Keira Knightley has accepted £3,000 High Court libel damages over an article in the Daily Mail which featured an anorexic Shropshire girl. Actress Keira Knightley has accepted £3,000 High Court libel damages over an article in the Daily Mail which featured an anorexic Shropshire girl. It was argued the article could have been interpreted to suggest the actress had an eating disorder and bore responsibility for the death of the teenager. Miss Knightley will donate the money to charity. The girl who died, Sophie Mazurek, 19, was from Bishop's Castle. When she died in December her weight had dropped from eight-and-a-half stones to about four stones. Read the full story in today's Shropshire Star
It was argued the article could have been interpreted to suggest the actress had an eating disorder and bore responsibility for the death of the teenager.
Miss Knightley will donate the money to charity.
Before today's hearing at the High Court in London, solicitor Simon Smith said the article "carried a photograph of Ms Knightley, taken without her consent, whilst wearing a bikini and relaxing on a beach on holiday".
He said: "The article made reference to what it perceived to be Ms Knightley's very slim appearance.
"The article then reported the recent, tragic death of a teenage girl who suffered from anorexia and contained an interview with the girl's mother."
The girl who died, Sophie Mazurek, 19, was from Bishop's Castle. When she died in December her weight had dropped from eight-and-a-half stones to about four stones.
When the action was announced Sophie's stepfather Lloyd Jones said his family had not linked the death of Sophie with any particular celebrity.
He said: "Our main concern is not with any particular celebrity. Sophie was influenced by images she saw of celebrities, but not by any celebrity in particular. What concerns us is the promotion of very skinny women.
"A lot of young girls are very impressionable. They equate being skinny with success."