George Clooney's phone harassment

Apr 7, 2008, 10:45 GMT

03/31/2008 - George Clooney - "Leatherheads" World Premiere - Arrivals - Grauman\'s Chinese Theater - Hollywood, CA, USA © GL / PR Photos

George Clooney launched a private investigation after receiving a threatening phone call warning him to split from his girlfriend.

The 'Leatherheads' star was so shocked when he received the threatening voicemail telling him to "dump the b***h", a reference to his lover Sarah Larson, he enlisted the help of his former police officer chauffeur to trace the call to a pre-paid cell phone.

In the message, a middle-aged man can be heard saying: "Dude, your friends asked me to give you a message - dump the b***h before you're sorry!"

George has been dating Las Vegas cocktail waitress Sarah since last year, but the 29-year-old beauty is unconcerned by the threat.

After George played it to her for the first time, in front of New Yorker magazine writer Ian Parker, a surprised Sarah said, "Before you're sorry?"

Sarah claims she has been the focus of many false stories involving her Las Vegas past, adding: "They say that I'm a stripper. There's a ton of stuff about that. I've never been a stripper. You know, just because I'm from Las Vegas, I must be a stripper. Because I'm a cocktail server, that means I'm an escort."

George, 46, denied the call could be the latest in a series of pranks played by close friends Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, insisting: "It's not a prank - none of my friends would do that."

After tracing the call, George and his driver attempted to discover if the suspect had used a credit card to pay for the phone, but soon reached a dead end in their investigation.

(C) BANG Media International