What exactly did he say?


Michael Douglas says in an interview with The Guardian newspaper that throat cancer, as he battled in 2010, can be caused by performing oral sex on women who have a sexually-transmitted disease.

And the story has spread quickly, but incorrectly, says the actor's rep.

It is being widely reported that Douglas said his cancer had been caused by having contracted the human papillomavirus (HPV) through oral sex.

But now (UPDATE, 10 a.m.ET,6/3), Douglas' longtime rep, Allen Burry, tells USA TODAY's Lorena Blas that although the headline on the Guardian story is "Michael Douglas: Oral Sex caused my cancer," that's not what the actor said.

"Michael Douglas did not say cunnilingus was the cause of his cancer. It was discussed that oral sex is a suspected cause of certain oral cancers as doctor's in the article point out but he did not say it was the specific cause of his personal cancer."

(UPDATE, 8:30 a.m. ET, 6/4) Buton Tuesday, The Guardian posted a transcript of Douglas' comments, saying it stands by the story and "firmly denies this charge of misrepresentation."

The comments, captured on tape between reporter Xan Brooks and Douglas, went like this:

Xan Brooks: "Do you feel, in hindsight, that you overloaded your system? Overloaded your system with drugs, smoking, drink?"

Michael Douglas: "No. No. Ah, without getting too specific, this particular cancer is caused by something called HPV, which actually comes about from cunnilingus."

Douglas, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2010, said at the time that drinking and smoking were culprits of his throat cancer.

The actor, 68, has been free of cancer for more than two years after receiving extensive chemotherapy and has returned to acting.

More: HPV causes a growing number of oral cancers

Asked whether he now regretted his years of smoking and drinking, Douglas replied in the article: "No. Because without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV, which actually comes about from cunnilingus."

Douglas, who has been married to Catherine Zeta-Jones since 2000, continued: "I did worry if the stress caused by my son's incarceration didn't help trigger it. But yeah, it's a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer."

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