![It has been a difficult decade for Matthew Newton.](/web/20151216010149im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/o/x/t/0/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gjmsp4.png/1442666516686.jpg)
It has been a difficult decade for Matthew Newton. Photo: Simon Alekna
Some people devote their entire lives to seeking fame, only to live frustrated lives in anonymity.
But for a few others, like Matthew Newton and Schapelle Corby, fame is something they seem to devote their lives to escaping, seemingly with little success as the events of the past few days have shown.
Matthew Newton, via his media savvy solicitor Christopher Murphy, launched a stinging attack on Woman's Day magazine on Monday, denying claims it published that Newton had recently been rushed to hospital in the United States for psychiatric treatment and had become a financial burden for his distraught parents, showbiz royalty Bert and Patti Newton.
![Schapelle Corby remains a hot topic in some quarters of the media.](/web/20151216010149im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/o/x/y/3/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gjmsp4.png/1442666516686.jpg)
Schapelle Corby remains a hot topic in some quarters of the media. Photo: Jason Childs
Murphy hit the phones early, beating the drum for his client whom he has represented for over a decade and has openly described as "being like a son". He called PS, decrying the contents of the Woman's Day story which he said had jeopardised "a major breakthrough for Matthew ... if this stuff gets circulated widely". PS sent 11 specific questions to Murphy for Newton to answer about the article. No response was forthcoming. Rather Murphy opted to issue a statement via social media.
According to the quotes attributed to Newton: "'There is an article in Woman's Day magazine published Sept 14 saying that I have been rushed to hospital and that I suffered a psychotic episode. It is absolutely untrue. It did not happen. It has been made up. The whole article is full of lies.
"I am happy and healthy. I have been residing peacefully leading an industrious and productive life in New York for the last three years with occasional business trips to Los Angeles. I am working with people on several film projects.
"I have not sought nor received financial support from my parents for many years. No journalist spoke to me before writing this nonsense in Woman's Day and it has been concocted with no basis in the truth ."
Murphy also called Woman's Day editor Fiona Connolly on Monday, threatening to sue over the article, however Connolly later told PS she stood by the story and the multiple sources she had. Connolly said no one had been paid for the story and that she made a judgement call not to identify the hospital the magazine claimed Newton had been treated in. She also added information had come from sources "extremely close to the Newton family".
Apart from Matthew, no other member of the Newton family has publicly objected to the contents of Woman's Day's story.
It has been a difficult decade for Matthew Newton, who has repeatedly given interviews in which he says he has finally turned his life around only to again land in hot water. He has been in and out of court on a variety of charges, accused of beating up everyone from his girlfriends to taxi drivers and hotel receptionists, portrayed as a reckless, drug-fuelled party boy, lost major gigs as a result of the continual controversy that follows him and become estranged from his parents in the most public of ways.
Murphy insists Newton is much better now, following a stint in rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic which Murphy says Newton "paid for himself".
Murphy offered me an interview with Newton on Monday on the proviso his previous controversies were not part of any subsequent coverage. Murphy also asked to see the article before it was published.
Naturally, I declined the conditions but hoped an interview would still follow so Newton could provide evidence to back up his claims the Woman's Day article was "full of lies". He never called.
No doubt Schapelle Corby would understand Newton's predicament well.
Corby remains a hot topic in some quarters of the media, her daily life documented in great detail, her every movement – no matter how banal – the fodder for tabloid media outlets, with Balinese paparazzos shoving cameras in her face each time she dares leave the confines of her home.
Even her parole officers have become willing participants in the Schapelle media circus.
In one article published last month,
Corby's Bali parole officers were quoted saying the convicted drug trafficker was happier and looking "sexier", even offering salacious morsels about her love life and denying reports Corby was pregnant.When one's parole officer is as chatty as Corby's, any hopes of living out her remaining time in Bali – another two years – in relative anonymity would seem pretty slim.
Indeed, what chance would either Corby or Newton have for a quiet life out of the spotlight if they ever returned to Australia?