Will Smith gets apology, undisclosed damages from WENN

Hollywood actor Will Smith today received an apology and undisclosed damages from a London based news agency after they distributed a story alleging the actor had called Adolf Hitler a "good person".

The article was distributed in December last year by The World Entertainment News Network (WENN) with the accompanying headline "Smith: Hitler was a good person".

After Smith complained, WENN retracted the article and circulated a correction and apology.

Smith's lawyer said the allegation was "false and without any foundation" and had wholly misrepresented the actor's words.

"The claimant believes that Adolf Hitler was a vile and heinous man," she added. "The allegation that he could think otherwise is deeply distressing to the claimant and has caused him acute embarrassment."

WENN's lawyer told the court: "The defendant accepts that the allegations concerning the claimant were misleading and published in error. It is therefore happy to set the record straight and to apologize to the claimant."

The company agreed to pay an unspecified amount to Smith, who will donate the money to charity. Will, 39, was not in court.