WME Head Patrick Whitesell Denies He Tipped Off National Enquirer About Jeff Bezos Affair With His Wife

Endeavor Government Chairman Patrick Whitesell is publicly denying a frail National Enquirer reporter’s claims that the Hollywood agency head tipped off the tabloid to Jeff Bezos’ extramarital affair with Whitesell’s now ex-accomplice, Lauren Sanchez.

In a signed affidavit filed this week by the apt team as fragment of a defamation swimsuit filed final year by Michael Sanchez, Lauren Sanchez’s brother, Nikolaos Tzima Hatziefstathiou acknowledged that he changed into once asked by Dylan Howard — then the stop editor of Enquirer owner American Media Inc. — to pursue a fable on Bezos primarily primarily based on a tip from Whitesell.

“The source changed into once Mr. Whitesell (on the time married to Ms. Sanchez), who wished to plot shut support of a ‘safe out of divorce free card’ that had fallen in his lap — namely, his discovery of the Affair,” the affidavit acknowledged. “Nonetheless, Mr. Whitesell changed into once adamant that his involvement as the source could perhaps perhaps never be disclosed, under any circumstance in anyway, stressing all communications and ties desires to be executed ‘outside of AMI.’”

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Hatziefstathiou also acknowledged coverage of Bezos’ affair would allow Whitesell to leave Lauren Sanchez for Pia Miller, who is now his fiancée, “through a pre-planned divorce through which he regarded blameless and scandal-free, honest staunch months prior to WME’s planned preliminary public providing in the summertime of 2019.”

But in an announcement to TheWrap, a obtain for Whitesell denied the accusation. “That is categorically misleading, and unfortunately now not the first time now we bear got seen this desperate try from Michael Sanchez to perpetuate this unparalleled and dreary circus,” the spokesman acknowledged. “The truth that Patrick has been implicated on this strange series of lawsuits and incriminations is a straight consequence of the character of those enthusiastic and is totally disconnected from truth. Any suggestion to the contrary is malicious and libelous.”

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The spokesman added that Whitesell met his now-fiancée, Miller, a year after the Bezos stories had been printed by the National Enquirer, refuting Hatziefstathiou’s assertion that the Endeavor executive changed into once attempting to leave Sanchez to be with Miller.

A guide for AMI, now rebranded as A360 Media, failed to straight reply to a ask for comment.

In early 2019, quickly after Bezos and MacKenzie Scott launched their divorce, the National Enquirer exposed the Amazon founder’s affair with Sanchez, a TV host and helicopter pilot, primarily primarily based on textual command messages and intelligent photos sent between the two that it had received.

Hatziefstathiou’s affidavit changed into once filed as fragment of Michael Sanchez’s ongoing defamation case against the National Enquirer’s father or mother firm, AMI, over the tabloid’s claim in an announcement that he changed into once the indispensable source for its fable referring to the Bezos affair and “supplied all of the materials” for its investigation.

Meanwhile, Hatziefstathiou has a dubious popularity. In 2019, he changed into once charged with impersonating journalists from the Unusual York Times and “Correct Morning The US” and for sending racist emails whereas posing as a county parole officer. He also pleaded guilty in 2015 to sending dozens of sex workers to his neighbor’s dwelling after which calling the authorities on them.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this file.