SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's military chief Tuesday personally apologised to entertainer Tania Zaetta over allegations she had sex with soldiers in war-torn Afghanistan.
Zaetta, who has a budding Bollywood career, was named in a defence briefing note as having slept with elite special forces soldiers while on a concert tour at a military base in the Taliban stronghold of Uruzgan last April.
The note -- since shown to be baseless -- was leaked to the press, and wild controversy ensued, landing Zaetta on the front page of Australia's tabloid newspapers.
Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston met Zaetta and her family Tuesday, and personally apologised for the hurt and distress caused.
"There was no substance to the allegations," Houston said in a statement.
"Ms Zaetta gave her time and her talent to entertain our forces serving in Afghanistan and she deserves our praise and our thanks. I have also made clear to Ms Zaetta that she is welcome to again join a Forces Entertainment Tour in the near future."
The defence department also reached an agreement late last year to compensate Zaetta for "an unacceptable breach of privacy" in relation to "false allegations," the statement said.
London-based Zaetta, 38, had denied the allegations which she described as "complete made-up lies."
"(And) apart from being hurtful, it's damaging to a woman's career, to her reputation and I wish someone had come and asked me before there had been any documentation," she said at the time.
Zaetta, who is of Australian and Italian heritage, rose to prominence here as a host of game show "Who Dares Wins," which is also the motto of the elite SAS special forces troops serving in Afghanistan.
In recent years, she has featured in a number of Bollywood productions, including a recent Charlie's Angels-style hit, "Mr Black, Mr White."
