In 1992, Donovan launched a libel action against "The Face" magazine which had published allegations that he was homosexual. Donovan won £200,000 in damages and the magazine had to pay a further £100,000 in costs, but the lawsuit created a backlash with people accusing him of being homophobic. Although he had been a mild drug user who had smoked cannabis joints up until this point, in the months after his libel action Donovan began using cocaine. In a 2007 interview in the magazine "Marie Claire" and also in his 2007 autobiography "Between The Lines: My Story Uncut", Donovan stated that suing "The Face" was the biggest mistake of his life.