Justin Timberlake's no cheat.

British tabloid News of the World admitted this on Wednesday morning (August 24), after it had run an article last summer claiming the pop star had cheated on longtime love Cameron Diaz with model Lucy Clarkson, according to Timberlake's publicist.

A little more than a year ago, Timberlake sued the newspaper when it refused to retract the report, which it bought from Clarkson. He'd also asked the tabloid to run an apology for the erroneous article, but that request, too, was rejected. Initially, the paper vehemently backed the story.

On Wednesday, though, Timberlake's lawsuit was finally settled in London's High Court, when News of the World admitted the article was a complete fabrication and offered an olive branch to the singer. As part of a settlement agreement, the paper will fork over a substantial, but undisclosed, amount of libel damages, and in addition will run a prominent public apology in its pages.

Clarkson, for her part, has agreed to return the money she'd been paid for telling her story. Timberlake will donate the monetary damages to Roots & Shoots, a nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Jane Goodall that engages and inspires youth through community service and service learning.

A statement issued by Timberlake's publicist in the wake of the settlement reads, in part, "Yet again, a tabloid has been caught lying. Thankfully, the judicial process worked, but how many cases like this will it take before these tabloids feel obligated to print the truth. Have they no shame?"

The settlement also forbids both News of the World and Clarkson from repeating the allegations in the future.