Soap Opera Digest
March 5, 2002
How Gossip Hurts the Stars

Let's Face It--Gossip Can Be Fun If It's Not About You

"I love to hear dish," affirms Catherine Hickland (Lindsay, ONE LIFE TO LIVE). "But I don't repeat anything. I don't want my name attached to it if it gets repeated."

Good point. The nature of gossip is that it will get repeated, and if it's not true, that's a problem.

"I've been in that position; it's horrible," Hickland shudders. "I've been in the tabloids. It was the worst time of my life. I was going through a divorce [from David Hasselhoff, ex-Snapper, YOUNG AND RESTLESS], and I was reading things about myself that were so not true. If what they're writing is true, you have to keep your mouth shut. But it's the worst feeling in the world when it's not true."

What can you do about it?

"I hired a libel lawyer and went after them," she retorts, "because it's not fair. If it's not true, then they can't say it. It was expensive, but it was worth it. I got a retraction. Okay, it was in tiny print in a little box where nobody could see it. But it made me feel better because it's not about people seeing it. It's about knowing they can't do that. They can'd just say things that hurt people and aren't true."

*This article is not in its entirety. Only the beginning with Catherine's comments has been re-printed.*