Bill Clinton lashes out at affair allegation

Bill Clinton has been forced to apologise for calling a Vanity Fair writer "sleazy, "slimy" and "dishonest" following a controversial article in the new issue of the magazine which claims that the former president has hindered his wife's campaign and that he has had an affair with the American actress Gina Gershon (pictured).

Clinton's outburst against the writer, Todd Purdum, followed a stump talk in South Dakota - one of the two states where final primaries were being held today - and was captured on tape by the Huffington Post. "He's a really dishonest reporter," said Clinton. "He's a real slimy guy."

With Hillary possibly on the verge of having to concede to Barack Obama, the outburst was just what his wife didn't need. Clinton aides later issued a statement saying Bill had been "understandably upset about an outrageously unfair article," but acknowledged that the language he had used "was inappropriate and he wishes he had not used it".

Galling for Clinton is the fact that Purdum is married to his old White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers. In the course of the article, Purdum suggested that Bill Clinton's personality had changed since his 2004 heart by-pass surgery and reported that there were rumours of Clinton "seeing a lot of women on the road". In particular, "recent high-end Hollywood dinner-party gossip" had it that Clinton had been seeing Gina Gershon in California.

Gershon is best known for her sexpot roles in such films as Showgirls and Bound. Recent TV work has included Curb Your Enthusiasm - where she played an Hasidic dry cleaner - and Ugly Betty. She is currently starring on Broadway in Boeing Boeing.