Retired cricketer Shane Warne has labelled Bauer Media’s Woman’s Day a “disgrace” and called for action against “made-up stories” after the gossip magazine published an unsourced article claiming his ex-wife was “tearing her hair out” over their adult son’s interest in gambling.
On Monday Warne called for a “media watchdog” to take action over what he said constituted “constant harassment” aimed at his family.
It came after the magazine published an article which claimed Warne’s ex-wife, Simone Callahan, was unhappy that the couple’s 18-year-old son Jackson Warne had attended a poker competition with the ex-cricketer.
Under a headline that claimed Callahan was “furious” and “horrified” at Warne’s influence over their son, the magazine cited unnamed “friends” as a source.
But Warne – whose love life has long been a favourite subject for Australia’s gossip magazines – issued an angry statement denying the story.
“Woman’s Day you are a disgrace,” he wrote on his Instagram page.
“I’m not sure what possess you to continue this attack & making up lies about me, my family or my private life. What is the media watchdog doing about this constant harassment & continual lies about made up stories with no substance whatsoever?”
It comes a few months after Australian actor Rebel Wilson was awarded more than $4.5m in damages in her libel case against Bauer Media relating to a series of articles accusing Wilson of being a serial liar about her age, real name and childhood.
While Warne did not threaten legal action, in a subsequent post he claimed Callahan was “also furious” about the story and had provided him with a quote to publish on her behalf.
Warne has both courted and complained about the media spotlight in the past.
In 2012 he and then-partner Liz Hurley sold their “exclusive” holiday photos to Woman’s Day, and he is a prolific social media user.
