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ABC settles out of court over Paper Giants defamation case

Alasdair Macdonald, the former husband of magazine editor Ita Buttrose, has settled his defamation case against the ABC out of court.

Macdonald was suing the ABC over the way he was portrayed in the mini-series Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo.

Details of the settlement, which was completed on Friday, remain confidential, according to Macdonald’s counsel.

Macdonald claims no one contacted him to verify the truth of the story before production.

When Mumbrella rang the ABC shop helpline we were told that copies of the series DVD had been withdrawn due to a “legal issue”.

Macdonald claims he was shown in the TV mini-series in a negative light, falsely depicting him as being “selfish and irresponsible” in scenes in which he abandons his heavily pregnant wife and young child so he could  “find himself and be a free spirit”.

The couple divorced in 1976 while Buttrose was editor of Cleo and Women’s Weekly. The show was described by the ABC as “groundbreakingly risqué” and a sequel is shortly to begin production.

Asher Keddie, who played Buttrose, was awarded a Logie in part for her role in the ABC production.

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