NEWS OF THE STARS AND THE FAMOUS. Cont'd.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have sparked fresh rumors
of a reconciliation by appearing together in public.
It was Affleck's first formal appearance with fiancée Jennifer Lopez since their wedding was postponed a month ago. He said he wanted to put the frenzied media interest in his private life to good use. "I accept the award in the hope that the absurd amount of publicity I received lately... might be directed at something more significant."
Affleck
arrest warrant dismissed
Tara Ray - who
claimed she has been in a relationship with the actor - took out the warrant and
accused the star of "communicating threats". But a North Carolina
District Attorney, John Carriker, dismissed the warrant after being unable to
contact Ms. Ray. Affleck denied the accusation, saying he was in another state
at the time. Under North Carolina law, Ms Ray was able to take out a warrant
without evidence of a crime or the involvement of police. Mr. Carriker also
criticized the system that allowed the warrant to be taken out on Saturday.
After the claim became public, Affleck's spokesman described the allegation as
"absurd and defamatory - he has no idea who this woman is".
Woman's
allegation
Ms. Ray originally accused the Pearl Harbor star of threatening to hurt her in North Carolina on 25 September. But Affleck, 31, has said he was in Georgia on that day and had never met the woman. Ms. Ray originally alleged the Hollywood star had followed her as she drove home and made threats to hurt her. "I honestly believed my life was in danger," she said. "I'm not out for the publicity part. I just wanted it to be known in the public that he's very capable of doing this to me." Affleck's spokesman had said there were "probably at least 50 paparazzi" who could attest the actor was in Savannah, Georgia.
He
has a $4.4m (£2.8m) ranch near the city. Mr. Carriker added: "This is a
very good example of why people shouldn't be able to take out a warrant
without any kind of police investigation." But he said there were no
plans to charge Ms. Ray with any offence.
Less than two weeks after calling off their wedding, they turned up at a courthouse in Savannah, Georgia. But rather than getting a new marriage license, they merely thanked officials for helping them. Affleck also applied for a gun license. Their wedding had been due to take place in California on 14 September. They had shocked their legions of fans by announcing just days before their wedding that they were calling it off because of a "media frenzy". As the couple had flown off to separate US cities instead of exchanging vows, anonymous sources quoted by several news agencies said their relationship was on the rocks. However, after a week of separation, they met at Affleck's new $7.1m (£4.3m) estate on Hampton Island near Savannah at the weekend. Savannah court clerk Brooke Moran told CBS television: "Ben Affleck said he was looking to hunt some this season, that he purchased two guns last week... and was purchasing his shotgun permit at the court today." The New York Daily News said the Federal Aviation Administration had imposed a no-fly zone over the property from Saturday morning to Sunday morning for reasons of "public safety or security." After earlier trying to flee reporters, they appeared on Tuesday at the courthouse and posed for photographs with officials and signed autographs for fans. The couple's 21-month-old love story is arguably Hollywood's most closely-watched union since that of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the 1960s. The couple had become friendly in December 2001, on the set of their movie Gigli, which proved to be a box-office flop.
Continues on the following pages.