Tiger Woods' wife has filed a libel lawsuit against an Irish magazine over a satirical article that included fake nude photos of her and claimed she appeared on porn Internet sites.
A Dublin, Ireland, law firm acting for Elin Nordegren filed the lawsuit in the Irish High Court on Nov. 16, the court's principal registrar, Ciaran Kelly, confirmed Friday.
The article was published in The Dubliner magazine in September when Ireland hosted the Ryder Cup. A headline described the U.S. golfers' wives as ``Ryder Cup filth'' and the story claimed that Woods' wife ``can be found in a variety of sweaty poses on porn sites across the web.'' It also insulted the wives of golfers Chad Campbell, David Toms and Jim Furyk.
Woods denounced the article on the opening day of Ryder Cup practice. He said he wouldn't tolerate the insults toward his Swedish wife, whom he married in Barbados in 2004.
``My wife, yes, she has been a model prior, and she did do some bikini photos,'' Woods said at the time. ``But to link her to porn websites and such is unacceptable, and I do not accept that at all. Neither does our team.''
``My wife, we're in it together,'' Woods added. ``We're a team, and we do things as a team. And I care about her with all my heart.''
The magazine's publisher, Trevor White, offered a qualified apology in September.
White said the article ``was written as a satirical piece and in the context of the entire page the publishers believed that readers would not be left thinking that there was any truth in the assertions, it being an absurd parody of the inaccurate tabloid publishing generally. If any contrary impression was given, it certainly does not intend for this, and the publisher unreservedly apologizes.''
Eason's, the major bookseller and magazine distributor in Ireland, withdrew September copies of The Dubliner from its shelves after receiving a flood of complaints from customers.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
