Maddy Accepts Brit Newspaper Damages

Madonna’s lawyer, John Kelly, confirmed the settlement with Brit newspaper Mail on Sunday but neither side was talking about an amount.  At one time the singer had sought damages in excess of $8 million.  The lawyer said Madonna would donate the money, an amount described as “substantial,” to her Raising Malawi charity.

Kelly said Madonna, who did not attend today’s hearing in London, tried to keep her December 2000 wedding private. That is, as private as a wedding held in a Scottish castle and attended by hundreds of celebrities can be.

But three years after the ceremony an interior designer working at the star’s Beverly Hills copied 27 photos from her wedding album then provided the copies to a woman who offered to sell the pictures to the paper.

According to Kelly, the Mail originally refused to publish the photos but reversed its decision and purchased the pics after Madonna and Ritchie announced their divorce.

Apparently, all this could have been avoided if the newspaper had warned Maddy it was going to print the pictures. According to Kelly, if the paper had tipped off the former Mrs. Ritchie about its intention, she could have sought a court order preventing it.

But that’s all water under the bridge, and now Maddy has a big pile of cash for her charity. Funny how these things work out.