Hurley's Ex Wins Apology from Tabloid

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday October 23, 2002 01:00 PM EDT

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The British tabloid the Daily Mirror has printed a full-page apology to Steve Bing, the father of Elizabeth Hurley's baby, after it printed his Los Angeles phone number and urged readers to call up and insult him, according to published reports.

The Mirror's story appears under the banner headline, "We're Sorry, Steve."

Bing, 37, the multi-millionaire scion of an American real-estate family and a sometime movie producer, sued the Mirror for $40 million. That lawsuit has now been dropped, the BBC reports.

Bing was roundly excoriated in the British press for his having publicly dropped Hurley last year after the model-actress, also 37, revealed she was pregnant. He also made disparaging remarks about her fidelity to him and denied he was the father of her child. A paternity test eventually proved otherwise.

The baby, a boy named Damian, was born in April. Bing has reportedly made a financial commitment to the child.

In its apology, the Mirror -- which had once referred to Hurley's ex as "Bing Laden" -- writes: "We would like to take the opportunity to offer our sincere apologies to Mr. Bing for publishing disparaging untrue statements about him, and for inappropriately urging our readers to telephone Mr. Bing, and to disturb him with derogatory remarks based on our inaccurate reports."

The tabloid goes on to say: "Our readers should know that Mr. Bing is not the ignominious character that has been depicted in the media ... He is a philanthropist and humanitarian who has dedicated himself to helping causes impacting children and their families."

Speaking from his base in L.A., Bing, as quoted by Sky News, said: "I am delighted that the Mirror has set the record straight."