Josh Hartnett Sues over Alleged Public-Sex Story

09/09/2008 at 12:40 PM EDT

Josh Hartnett wants an apology and has slapped a defamation lawsuit against Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper for alleging he carried on a "sexual dalliance" in a public area of a London hotel, the BBC reports.

Hartnett, 30, who is in the British capital awaiting the start of previews for the West End stage production of Rain Man (in which he'll play the role created by Tom Cruise on screen), called the newspaper's purported claims "not only untrue but a complete fabrication," according to his lawyers, who also labeled them "defamatory and unsubstantiated."

Hartnett, reportedly speaking on ITV's This Morning, called the news story, which also claimed he and his alleged partner were purportedly filmed on closed-circuit television, "rubbish. The paper said it was 'rumored' I was caught on CCTV. But how can you have a rumor about a video? It would be on the Internet [by] now."
– Stephen M. Silverman