Ving Rhames has called on the press to issue a public apology to the family of his late caretaker Jacob Adams, after it was falsely claimed the employee had died as a result of an attack by the actor's dogs.

Adams, 40, was initially thought to have been mauled to death by the Pulp Fiction star's pets at his Brentwood, California home in August, but a coroner later ruled he died from a "pre-existing heart problem."

However, Rhames, who was filming in Bulgaria at the time of the incident, claims it was Adams' sickle cell anemia which killed him - and wants the media to make amends for the trauma their inaccurate reports caused Adams' grieving family.

He tells TMZ.com, "My friend who passed away, my caretaker, they found out it was a sickle cell attack that he had. I'm sorry, really, that the press gave such a negative report of the situation that his family had to deal with. The reason was sickle cell anemia, he only had three (dog) bites on him... I never even knew he had that (sickle cell). Even the coroner said there was no way the dogs could have done that (killed him). For his family to go through life thinking he'd been eaten alive by dogs, that's very different from a sickle cell attack. I would just like the media to make an apology to Jacob's family."

Rhames' dogs - three mastiffs and one bulldog - were originally quarantined but have since been returned to the actor.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)