Richard Simmons Sues The National Enquirer Over False Transgender Stories

LOS ANGELES, CA — Richard Simmons is taking the National Enquirer and Radar Online to court, alleging the outlets published false stories claiming he has hidden from the public eye while undergoing a sex change.

On Monday, the fitness guru sued the National Enquirer, Radar Online and their publisher for libel. The lawsuit also alleges Simmons was being blackmailed by a former associate who stalked him and peddled bogus information. However, The Enquirer responded by defending the credibility of its sources and vowing to fight the lawsuit. The case is the latest in the bizarre saga of Simmons' sudden withdrawal from the limelight.

The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit contends the series of articles falsely suggested he was transitioning from a male to a female, and that the stories were based on phony information provided by a former assistant.

The Enquirer responded on its website that its reporting was based on "credible sources." The publication vowed to "vigorously" defend the against the lawsuit.

"We will also aggressively pursue our ongoing investigation into his life and who is really behind this bizarre and meritless lawsuit," according to the publication.

The lawsuit alleges that Simmons was being "blackmailed, extorted and stalked" for several years by the ex-assistant, who allegedly peddled false and libelous information to the Enquirer and Radar Online, which are both owned by American Media.

The assistant -- who is not named as a defendant -- allegedly told the Enquirer that Simmons stopped appearing in public in 2014 because he was undergoing a sex change, according to the suit.

The lawsuit -- which seeks unspecified damages -- alleges that the Enquirer and Radar "knew and acted in reckless disregard" by relying on a tipster "who was not a credible or reliable source."

Simmons, 68, has not been seen publicly since February 2014. A podcast, "Missing Richard Simmons," has been among the most popular series of its kind this year.

The famed fitness guru was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last month for what was reported to be a gastrointestinal problem. Simmons posted a message on his Facebook page after he returned home, thanking the hospital staff and the police who escorted him home.

In his message, he wrote that he was not "missing," but was just "a little under the weather."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.