Newlywed Josh Duhamel is going public, denouncing reports that he cheated on wife Fergie with a stripper.

"This story is absolutely ridiculous,'' the Transformers star said in a statement. "This is not the first time that a stripper was paid a large amount of money to sell a false story about a celebrity."

The story was first reported in the tabloids and now it's gone mainstream. Fergie is on the cover of the new issue of People magazine with a headline no newlywed would ever want to see: "Rocked By Scandal."

"A source close to Fergie says she's heard it before she's confronted him he's always denied it," says Julie Dan, a Senior Editor of People magazine.

The stripper, a 34-year-old single mom, says she met Duhamel at a gentleman's club in Atlanta where he's filming a new movie. She says she danced for him and a few days later he called and invited her to a luxury suite at the ritzy St. Regis Hotel in downtown Atlanta.

Her name is Nicole Forrester and she spoke about the alleged rendezvous in an interview with Atlanta radio station Q100. She says she has copies of Duhamel's racy text messages.

Josh Duhamel and Fergie were married just last January. Their romantic wedding in Malibu was a million-dollar extravaganza and was featured on the cover of Us Weekly magazine.

Fergie is said to be "disappointed" by the rumors of infidelity, but friends say she's committed to her marriage and plans to stick with Duhamel.