DUBLIN: Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez and her salsa star husband Marc Anthony have launched a chain of European libel actions against US celebrity magazine the National Enquirer over drug scandal allegations.

Belfast-based lawyer Paul Tweed, who specialises in fighting US libel cases in European courts, said he had filed a lawsuit with the Belfast High Court and a writ of summons would arrive at the magazine’s New York headquarters shortly.

“We will now make similar applications in Dublin, London and other jurisdictions,” he told Reuters.

Lopez and Anthony were seeking “substantial damages”, a full retraction and an apology over an Enquirer article last month that alleged the couple were linked to a drug scandal after Anthony was pictured with a photographer later charged with heroin possession.

The story was “totally unfounded”, said Tweed, who last year won an apology from the Enquirer for singer Britney Spears over an article claiming she was about to divorce her husband.

Richard Valvo, a spokesman for the National Enquirer, said the company had no comment to make on Tuesday.

Tweed said US-based celebrities were increasingly pursuing libel claims in European courts.

“It’s virtually impossible to sue for libel in the United States because of First Amendment protections,” he said.

“But these publications are now appearing in Ireland, the UK and France, and on the Internet, and they’re now subject to the libel laws of these jurisdictions.”

He pointed out that the option only really applied to internationally known stars who could prove they had a reputation to protect.

In most cases defendants opted to settle out of court rather than risk paying damages in numerous jurisdictions, he said, adding that if the Enquirer chose to fight, the case was likely to take between 9 and 15 months.

Tweed, a libel lawyer for 30 years, has previously taken cases for Irish actor Liam Neeson, singer Whitney Houston and US film producer Steve Bing.

NEW YORK: Salsa singer-songwriter Marc Anthony failed to pay taxes for four years in a row and owes $US2.5 million in back taxes and fines, the Manhattan District Attorney has said.

Anthony has not been charged, but his manager, accountant and his three companies all pleaded guilty to tax crimes in a plea deal reached with Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. Anthony must pay the $US2.5 million by June 1.

The New York-born singer, who is married to singer/actress Jennifer Lopez was not charged because he relied on his accountant to file his tax returns, Morgenthau said.

But between 2001 and 2004, years when Anthony – the biggest-selling salsa artist of all time – released the albums Libre, Mended and Amar Sin Mentiras, he failed to pay taxes on $US15.5 million in income, according to the DA’s office.

Lopez, who married Anthony in 2004, was not a subject of the investigation, Morgenthau said.

“He thought that he could rely on his manager and his accountant,” Morgenthau said of Anthony.

Anthony’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

Anthony’s manager, Bigram Zayes – who is also Anthony’s brother – and Philip Sarna, the business manager and accountant for Anthony and his three companies, also failed to pay their personal city, state and federal income taxes.

Those companies, which handle Anthony’s tours, the publication of his music and lyrics and his management, collect income which is then turned over to Anthony.