Hugh Grant is a dynamic English actor. He became a significant figure in the industry after his ever-shining romantic lead roles that would just swoon the fans away. Later on in his career, he started to play more diverse and dramatic roles. Grant became a household name after his role in Four Weddings and a Funeral, which was released in 1994 and gave him a breakthrough unlike any other. While Hugh Grant managed to create a stir just by his acting and leading performances, this time he is in news for his recent lawsuit.
The dynamic actor filed a lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun tabloid. He has accused the publication of obtaining private information, and criminal measures such as phone tapping and burglary are used. As reported by the BBC, the actor has decided to settle his lawsuit against the publication, although he refuses to accept the settlement money.
Has Hugh Grant settled his privacy lawsuit case against The Sun?
Hugh Grant has resolved his privacy lawsuit against The Sun’s publisher, Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers. According to the BBC, Grant struck a settlement on Wednesday. The actor has accepted enormous compensation from the Sun in exchange for withdrawing his allegation that he was illegally targeted by the newspaper’s journalists.
Grant had stated that he planned to defend the matter and go to trial, where the Sun’s top executives would be called to testify. However, he has decided that he cannot afford to turn down the reimbursement from the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper, which he will donate to a press regulatory charity.
Grant wrote a lengthy thread on X, now known as Twitter, upon the revelation of the settlement, stating that he refuses to let this be hush money. He wrote: “News Group is claiming they are entirely innocent of the things I had accused the Sun of doing: phone hacking, unlawful information gathering, landline tapping, the burglary of my flat and office, the bugging of my car, the illegal blagging of medical records, lies, perjury, and the destruction of evidence.
As is customary with completely innocent people, they are paying me a large sum of money to keep this case out of court. I do not want to accept this money or settle. I’d like to see all of the charges they refute tested in court. However, under civil litigation laws, if I proceed to trial and the court awards me damages that are even a cent less than the settlement offer, I am required to pay both parties’ legal fees.”
Grant went on to say that his lawyers told him earlier that he was likely to receive an enormous settlement, and even if the accusations were true, he would still be liable for a huge amount. The actor then slammed the publication for their settlement and said he refused it to be hush money. He wrote, “He appears adamant that there should be no trial of the facts. Murdoch’s settlement money stinks, and I refuse to let it be hush money. I have spent the better part of the last 12 years working for a free press that does not distort the facts, mistreat regular citizens, or hold elected MPs hostage in the name of newspaper barons’ personal wealth and political power.”
Grant stated that the settlement funds will be repurposed via groups like Hacked Off into a general campaign to expose the worst excesses of our oligarch-owned press. According to the Hacked Off website, Grant founded the organization in 2011 to push for a free and accountable press for the public.
Hugh Grant’s privacy lawsuit against The Sun publication
Hugh Grant, a British actor, had filed a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid, The Sun. Grant was one of the actors who had filed a case with the publication alongside Prince Harry for similar matters. He and Prince Harry were suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) for alleged widespread illegal information collection, including landline tapping, burglary, and blagging private information about him.
Meanwhile, Grant’s most recent lawsuit against NGN was slated to go to trial in January 2025. This came out before the settlement was announced.
