Magazine apologizes to US first lady Melania Trump
(Photo by Justin Merriman/Getty Images)
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) - A Slovenian magazine apologized Friday to U.S. first lady Melania Trump for suggesting she had worked as a high-end escort while pursuing her international modeling career, and said it is paying her compensation.
The Suzy women magazine said that it published an article in August 2016 in which it said Trump in the past worked for a fashion agency that also offers an "elite escort" service besides modeling.
It said the article "was understood as if Melania Trump conducted the escort job. We have no proof for that. So we apologize. We had no intention to hurt and offend Mrs. Trump."
Melania Trump had filed a libel lawsuit against the magazine through her Slovenian lawyer. The lawyer is to make a statement later Friday.
Natasa Lusa, a member of the publishing board for the company that publishes the magazine, said that the apology is part of a legal settlement with the lawyer and that it also includes an undisclosed sum as compensation.
The 47-year-old left her native Slovenia in her 20s and met Donald Trump at a Fashion Week party in New York in 1998.