US: George Clooney has no problem being called a liberal - too many people in the US, he said recently, act "like it's a dirty word" - but he draws the line at being called a blogger.
The left-wing actor has fallen out with left-wing commentator and socialite Arianna Huffington over whether he authorised his words to appear on her blog, the Huffington Post.
A posting appeared under Clooney's byline and picture on Monday, entitled "I am a Liberal. There, I said it!" In it, the Oscar- winning actor attacked the Democratic Party for passivity in the face of Republican warmongering.
"It drives me crazy to hear all these Democrats saying, 'We were misled'," he wrote. "It makes me want to shout, 'F**k you, you weren't misled. You were afraid of being called unpatriotic'." His words were reported by several national and international media outlets.
In fact, the posting had been assembled by Huffington from two interviews Clooney gave recently - one to the Guardian newspaper and one to CNN's Larry King. She said she had received unambiguous approval in writing from the actor's publicist for the use of his words.
But in a statement, Clooney called Huffington's actions "purposefully misleading . . . I stand by my statements, but I did not write this blog."
His publicist, Stan Rosenfield, denied that the problem had been a breakdown in communication.
"She knows what she was doing. She was saying to people that she had George Clooney's [ blog posting] and was printing it. George Clooney does not make statements. He answers questions."
Clooney's appearance on the blog had seemed like a scoop: the Huffington Post's list of contributors reads like a roll-call of liberal America, including comedian Al Franken and writer Gore Vidal.
Launched less than a year ago, the blog (www.huffingtonpost. com) surprised sceptics by becoming a much-quoted source.
Huffington said she sent a sample posting to Clooney's representatives and was surprised when it was sent back with no changes. "Obviously I've learnt something from this. This was the first time approval came from a publicist instead of my being in direct communication with a principal."