David Bar Katz Sues National Enquirer for $50 Million Over Hoffman Story

On Wednesday morning, we told you about the National Enquirer cover story that claims that New York playwright David Bar Katz was Philip Seymour Hoffman’s “gay lover.” And on Wednesday afternoon, Katz’s attorney filed a civil suit against the National Enquirer seeking a judgment of $50 million. That’s right: $50 million.

The suit calls the Enquirer article “one of the most reprehensible examples of yellow journalism” ever. It reads, in part:

…the Enquirer published a story that falsely claimed that Bar Katz had given an exclusive interview to the Enquirer in which he stated that he and Hoffman were gay lovers, that he had seen Hoffman freebase cocaine the night before Hoffman’s death, and that he had seen him use heroin on a number of occassions.

THE STORY IS A COMPLETE FABRICATION: THERE WAS NO INTERVIEW. BAR KATZ HAS NEVER SPOKEN TO ANYONE AT THE ENQUIRER ABOUT HOFFMAN. BAR KATZ AND HOFFMAN WERE NEVER LOVERS. BAR KATZ DID NOT SEE HOFFMAN FREEBASING COCAINE THE NIGHT BEFORE HE DIED, OR AT ANY OTHER TIME. BAR KATZ NEVER SAW HOFFMAN USE HEROIN OR COCAINE.

(Emphasis as written in the suit.)

Katz, seen in the above photo with Hoffman, found the actor dead on Sunday morning. The suit asks for at least $5 million in damages to Katz and another $45 million in punitive damages. Katz is the son of Harry Jay Katz, the Philadelphia man who found a woman dead in his hot tub in 1995.

Enquirer editor Tony Frost has not responded to a request for comment.