Schwarzenegger Aide To Be Sued For Libel

A British judge has cleared the way for Arnold Schwarzenegger's spokesperson to face a libel lawsuit in Britain, after he publicly blasted claims the former actor groped a TV presenter.

In a documentary about SCHWARZENEGGER, ANNA RICHARDSON alleged the Terminator actor made lewd comments and groped her breasts during a 2000 interview. She unleashed the revelations shortly before he was voted into office as Governor of California.

High Court Judge DAVID EADY ruled against aide Sean Walsh's attempt to block the libel case on the grounds that his comments were published in America and not Britain.

Richardson's libel suit centres around comments made by Walsh, Schwarzenegger and another spokesperson, SHERYL MAIN, in the LOS ANGELES TIMES last year (OCT03). She claims the quotes portrayed her as "deliberately and dishonestly fabricating" the allegations about Schwarzenegger's behaviour towards her during the interview in London while the movie star was promoting his movie THE SIXTH DAY.

Judge Eady ruled that since the comments had also been published on the internet they had also been made available in Britain, so Richardson is free to argue her reputation had been damaged in her home country, clearing the way for a libel suit in the UK courts.