George Clooney clearly enjoyed his recent assault on the Daily Mail. He told Variety, the US entertainment trade magazine: "It's just fun to slap those bad guys every once in a while, knock 'em around."

You may recall that the Mail's website ran an article falsely claiming that the mother of Clooney's fiancée, Amal Alamuddin, objected to their upcoming marriage. The publisher deleted the article and apologised to Clooney.

Clooney, interviewed by phone by Variety, is quoted as saying: "I would sit with my friends and we'd just go, 'So they just sat at a computer and just went, OK, this is what I'm gonna say today.'

"I mean, literally, because you just go 'There isn't literally an element of truth in this.' You just laugh, and let it go. I'm used to it after all these years.

"But the thing that bothers me is how much the Daily Mail is now bleeding into American press and becoming a source for some pretty legitimate newspapers. So that's the thing that worries me."

Clooney continued: "Those are really bad guys and they do tend to tee off on everybody. It's fun when you can go, 'Well, this one, I know I have all the facts right.'

"Usually the argument is, 'Hey, we're not gonna tell you our source,' and, 'Prove it.' And when they actually do it themselves it's so great. You go, 'OK, well you obviously just screwed this (up), so I think I can get you now.'"

Turning to his engagement to Alamuddin, a lawyer and author, Clooney quipped: "I'm marrying up."

Source: Variety