Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos has said the National Enquirer threatened to publish revealing photographs of him unless his private investigators backed off the US tabloid.
Mr Bezos detailed the revelations in a post on the Medium.com website. He says he was the target of “extortion and blackmail” by the publisher of the Enquirer.
After the tabloid published a story about his extramarital affair last month, Mr Bezos ordered a team of private investigators to get to the bottom of how the Enquirer obtained risque texts between the executive and former TV anchor Lauren Sanchez.
Since then, there has been a public relations battle.
Earlier this week, the tabloid’s editor, Dylan Howard, emailed a lawyer for Mr Bezos’ longtime security consultant in order to describe photos the Enquirer “obtained during our newsgathering”.
The photos include a “below the belt selfie” of Mr Bezos, photos of him in tight boxer-briefs and wearing only a towel, and several revealing photos of Ms Sanchez, according to the email Mr Bezos released in his blog post.
According to emails Mr Bezos posted, a lawyer for American Media Inc (AMI), the Enquirer’s parent company, offered a deal on Wednesday – the tabloid would not post the photos if Mr Bezos and his investigators released a public statement “affirming that they have no knowledge or basis” to suggest that the Enquirer’s coverage was “politically motivated or influenced by political forces”.
Mr Bezos’ investigators have suggested the Enquirer’s coverage of his affair was politically motivated.
Mr Bezos has been the target of criticism from US president Donald Trump over the Post’s critical coverage of the White House, and AMI has admitted that it engaged in what is known as “catch-and-kill” practices to help Trump become president.
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