When an ultra famous actor says he caught nearly fatal cancer from giving head, it’s not surprising that such a tale goes viral. However, a rep for Michael Douglas came out to deny that he made the oral cancer from cunnilingus comment and accused The Guardian of misquoting him. Yes, publicists still try that trick. No, I don’t know why they even bother in the age of fantastic digital recording devices purchasable on the cheap, but of course, The Guardian clapped back.
Here’s what Douglas’ longtime rep, Allen Burry, told USA Today:
“Michael Douglas did not say cunnilingus was the cause of his cancer. It was discussed that oral sex is a suspected cause of certain oral cancers as doctor’s in the article point out but he did not say it was the specific cause of his personal cancer.”
Here’s how The Guardian responded:
The Guardian firmly denies this charge of misrepresentation. Mr Burry was not present at the Guardian’s interview with Michael Douglas; the only two people present were Mr Douglas and the Guardian writer, Xan Brooks. Here is the audio file of the relevant part of the interview, along with a verbatim transcript of that section.
Xan Brooks: Do you feel, in hindsight, that you overloaded your system? Overloaded your system with drugs, smoking, drink?
Michael Douglas: No. No. Ah, without getting too specific, this particular cancer is caused by something called HPV, which actually comes about from cunnilingus.
They also provided audio. The Guardian, with the flawless victory!
