Spain's defeated Popular Party said Wednesday it will sue Oscar-winning director Pedro Almodovar for repeating rumors that the party had prepared a coup attempt ahead of last weekend's elections. Ignacio Calabuig, spokesman for outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's party, said the complaint for "slander" would be filed with a Madrid court.
| Cheez, Ted Rall's worse than this every day. |
At a packed screening of his latest film, "Bad Education," Almodovar told reporters he'd heard rumors that the Popular Party planned a takeover last Saturday, the eve of the elections it lost. "If confirmed it would be horrendous," El Mundo newspaper quoted the double Oscar winner as saying, putting his comments on its front page.
| Of course he's apologized since then, right? |
On Wednesday, Interior Minister Angel Acebes said Almodovar's comments were "ludicrous" and didn't "merit respect." The leader of the victorious Socialists, Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, said he, too, heard rumors but gave them no credence.
| Taking lessons from Howie Dean -- just repeat the rumor. |
In his defense, Almodovar said in a statement Wednesday that "I just echoed a sea of rumors" but never suggested they were true.
| "¡No, no! ¡Ciertamente no!" |
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