Playwright David Bar Katz has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the publishers of US gossip magazine, the National Enquirer, after the publication claimed that he and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman were gay lovers.

In a complaint filed in the New York Supreme Court, Bar Katz stated that the magazine published a libellous story claiming that he had given an “exclusive interview” in which he said the two men were lovers and that he had witnessed Hoffman freebase cocaine before his death, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

“The story is a complete fabrication: There was no interview,” reads the complaint.

“Bar Katz and Hoffman were never lovers. Bar Katz did not see Hoffman freebasing cocaine the night before he died, or at any other time. Bar Katz never saw Hoffman use heroin or cocaine.”

Bar Katz’s lawyer Judd Burstein was quick to respond. “This article is just disgusting. Here you have Phil’s family and his friends grieving, and the Enquirer comes along seeking to make a buck through putrid lies.

“Worse still, it appears that the Enquirer sent out a press release hyping the story so that it could sell more copies of the magazine. I do not know how these people can sleep at night,” he added.

Bar Katz – who discovered Hoffman’s lifeless body at his home on February 2 – is seeking $5 million in ‘actual’ damages and $45 million in punitive damages.