Kate Hudson accepts libel damages

Kate Hudson has accepted libel damages from a supermarket tabloid that claimed she was dangerously thin, her lawyer said Thursday.

The British edition of the National Enquirer has agreed to pay undisclosed damages and print an apology for an October 2005 article that claimed Hudson was "way too thin" and looked "like skin and bones," said Simon Smith, a lawyer for the 27-year-old actress.

American Media Inc., the magazine's U.S.-based publisher, apologized for "the deep distress and acute embarrassment" caused by the allegations, which it acknowledged were false.

The article -- accompanied by a photo of a gaunt-looking Hudson -- claimed her mother, Goldie Hawn, planned to confront her about her weight. Both Hudson and Hawn denied the claim.

Smith said Hudson lost weight to get in shape for a film after giving birth to her son, Ryder, in January 2004. He said she took legal action over the magazine's suggestion she had "recklessly and foolishly endangered her health" by failing to eat.

newsday