Commentary: Maybe 'Sorry' isn't the hardest word

November 25, 2008 Last week, David Duchovny joined Nicole Kidman and Will Smith among the actors who have recently trumpeted mea culpas, this one from Britain's Daily Mail, which published an item on its Web site suggesting that the "Californication" star cheated on wife Tea Leoni with a tennis coach. Despite the difficulty of winning defamation cases, the business of extracting retractions has become lucrative for entertainment litigators as the media universe has diversified and entertainment figures find their reputations increasingly under attack. Stein got the Duchovny apology -- as well as recent retractions from the National Enquirer for saying that Ashley Olsen was caught in a drug bust and from celebrity Web site X17 for claiming that NBA player Tony Parker cheated on wife Eva Longoria Parker -- after suing in Los Angeles courts.

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