ANNA NICOLE SMITH's ex-boyfriend LARRY BIRKHEAD has struck the first blow in the ongoing war of words between himself and U.S. journalist RITA COSBY - he's instructed his lawyer to sue her over allegations in her new book. In her tome Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind ANNA NICOLE SMITH's Death, Cosby claims the photographer and his supposed former love rival Howard K. Stern were caught having gay sex on camera. Cosby admits she has never seen the sex tape, but insists her sources corroborate the story, with one revealing Smith actually saw the footage before her death in February (07).Both Birkhead and Stern have threatened to take legal action against Cosby and her publisher, and now the photographer, who is the father of Anna Nicole's baby girl Dannielynn, has done just that."I would lawyer up if I were them because it's coming their way." He says, "I've instructed my attorney to sue Rita Cosby and the publisher and any source that spits out that information anywhere. Appearing on CNN show Larry King Live on Tuesday (04Sep07), Birkhead also revealed he's considering suing U.S. TV network MSNBC because that's where Cosby was working when she reported on the aftermath of Smith's death in the Bahamas.

He added, "She came several times on MSNBC's dime as an MSNBC reporter. She drank alcohol... everything at my expense - I got billed for it".

Tagged in