Leonardo DiCaprio is not the father of Rihanna’s baby. He is a mega star who can sell gossip rags when he’s on the cover – even if the story is completely wrong.

So Leo is suing a French gossip magazine over a story claiming that not only was he the father of Rihanna’s baby but wanted nothing to do with the baby. This is more than just a little oops for the magazine named, Oops!. (By the way, is Rihanna even pregnant?)

The owner of Oops! has reportedly admitted that he didn’t know whether the story was true or false when he ran it, and that he fully expects to lose the lawsuit. He went on to say his staff read numerous stories saying Leo and Rihanna were together but also that the magazine didn’t know if Rihanna was pregnant adding, ”We thought she might be. We were no sure, of course.”

Obviously, there’s a bigger financial upside to using scandalous headlines to sell issues, even if the stories are true and you get sued over them. It’s just a cost of doing business.

Clearly, this isn’t about the money. Under French law, the maximum recovery is about $20,000 plus legal fees. This is about using the court of law to manage Leo’s reputation in the court of public opinion.

According to the court papers, in addition to the erroneous claim that DiCaprio is having a baby with Rihanna, the magazine is being sued under France’s strict right to privacy laws. The lawsuit points out that Oops! does not have the right to print information about DiCaprio’s personal life nor was it allowed to publish two paparazzi photos of him on the street. DiCaprio’s side is also asking Oops! to print a retraction on an upcoming cover, and if it doesn’t, his legal team has asked the court to impose a fine of approximately $11,100.

Either way Oops! Will have Leo on the cover and the chance to sell more magazines. And that’s the high price of stardom.

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Darren Kavinoky

Celebrity Personality, On-Air Legal Analyst, Keynote Speaker, Founder and Owner of 1.800.NoCuffs and The Kavinoky Law Firm at 1.800.NoCuffs and The Kavinoky Law Firm

Keynote speaker Darren Kavinoky is the creator and host of the hit TV show Deadly Sins on Investigation Discovery. He's also the co-host of ID's Did He Do It? and the featured criminal interventionist in ID's docudrama Breaking Point. Darren appears regularly as a legal analyst and a celebrity misbehavior expert on The Insider, Dr. Drew, CNN, HLN and countless more. Darren is the founder of 1.800.NoCuffs, The Kavinoky Law Firm, and is an award-winning attorney; He’s been named one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in California” each year since 2007.

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