David Katz agrees to settle libel suit with US paper over an erroneous Philip Seymour Hoffman report

Pointing to a New York Post article, Fox News said in its report that David Katz has dropped libel claims against a US paper for claiming that he was the gay lover and occasional drug use buddy of the later actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. Katz, who is the close friend of the late thespian, allegedly gave an interview to the The National Enquirer about his romantic relationship with the actor and supposedly revealed that the two freebased cocaine the night Seymour Hoffman died.

Fox News said "The Master" actor was found by Katz at his home on February 2. His death was reportedly due to a heroin overdose.

Talking to the New York Times about his awareness of the newspaper's claims, Katz said, "My 14-year-old said, ‘Dad, there's something online about you and Phil being lovers.' I said, ‘Phil would get a kick out of that.' Things had already achieved the maximum level of surreality, and I thought this thing online was a big nothing. After I dropped the kids at school, I looked at my phone, and I've gotten a million calls."

Katz filed a libel suit against The Enquirer, of which the latter immediately retracted its article and issued an apology to the playwright, the Times had said. And in what appeared to be as an ode to his late friend, Katz agreed to drop the charges if The Enquirer fund the annual $45,000 prize for a foundation he created to provide opportunities for individuals who wish to get their unproduced plays noticed, the New York paper said.

Judd Burstein, who represented Katz in the libel suit against The Enquirer and its publisher, American Media Incorporated, said Katz will not receive nor seek any personal payment in his settlement with the media company and the paper.

When asked by the Times about his inspiration with the creation of the American Playwriting Foundation, Katz said, "It's so awful and ludicrous. We had talked so often that it's a tragedy playwrights can't survive being playwrights - about how nice it would be if you could make your rent and still have an occasional steak."

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Philip Seymour Hoffman death, Philip Seymour Hoffman gay lover, David Katz, The National Enquirer

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