George Clooney Rejects Wedding Story Apology

George Clooney has rejected an apology from the Daily Mail over a false story it printed, saying it was based on a "premeditated lie".

The story, published on MailOnline and now taken down, suggested the Hollywood star's future mother-in-law was unhappy with her daughter, Amal Alamuddin's, choice of man.

The publisher printed an apology but maintained that the article was "not a fabrication".

However, the Hollywood star has now written a statement in USA Today saying he would never accept the apology and branding the Mail as the "worst kind of tabloid".

"One that makes up its facts to the detriment of its readers and to all the publications that blindly reprint them," he added.

In its article, the website quoted unnamed sources as saying Lebanese-born journalist and broadcaster Baria Alamuddin, the mother of Clooney's lawyer fiancee Amal, was annoyed because her daughter was not marrying into what it said was the family's Druze religion.

It quoted Ms Alamuddin as saying her daughter could "do better" and that she risked "being cast out of the community".

The actor said: "There is one constant when a person or company is caught doing something wrong. The cover-up is always worse.

"In this case, the Daily Mail has printed an apology for insinuating religious tensions where there are none. In the apology, managing editor Charles Garside claims that the article was 'not a fabrication', but 'based the story on conversations with senior members of the Lebanese community'.

"The problem is that none of that is true. The original story never cites that source, but instead goes out of its way to insist on four different occasions that 'a family friend' spoke directly to the Mail. A 'family friend' was the source. So either they were lying originally or they're lying now."

The Daily Mail has not responded to a request for a comment.