The National Enquirer is firmly standing by its story that Macaulay Culkin is hooked on heroin and highly addictive painkillers.
The American tabloid has posted a statement on its website, urging the former Home Alone star, 31, to seek urgent professional help - and challenged him to take a blood test.
It comes after his representatives strenuously denied the magazine's report on Wednesday - which features on the cover under the headline: 'Macaulay Culkin addicted to heroin: 6 month to live.'
Culkin's spokeswoman had no further comment when contacted by MailOnline today - other than reiterating the Enquirer's report is 'false' and 'insulting'.
Hitting back: The National Enquirer has issued a statement today standing by its cover story this week about Macaulay Culkin's alleged drug habit after the actor's representatives strenuously denied the report
The Enquirer posted a statement on its website this morning, reading: 'Should Macaulay’s representatives continue to deny The ENQUIRER’s accurate and detailed report, we are ready to offer him the opportunity to take a blood test administered by an independent medical lab.'
It adds: 'Our advice to Macaulay is to seek professional help to avoid the same tragic fate of other beloved celebrities, including Whitney Houston who died earlier this year.'
The Enquirer's statement also refers to Culkin's friend Elijah Rosello, who died in March aged 24 from a heroin overdose.
Frail: Culkin pictured in February of this year looking alarmingly thin and, right, as cheeky Kevin McCallister in 1990 film Home Alone
In the article, the magazine alleges Culkin and Rosello used to do drugs together - and repeats this again in today's statement.
It went on: 'We believe that the former child star should be doing everything he can to get the treatment he so desperately needs – and which could have saved the life of his friend Elijah Rosello.
'Her family confirmed to The ENQUIRER that she did drugs with Macaulay before her drug-related death in March.'
Culkin's spokeswoman Michelle Bega branded the article - which claimed Culkin has a $6,000-a-month drug habit - as 'ridiculously fictitious' and 'insulting' when first contacted by MailOnline for comment on Wednesday.
The magazine alleged Culkin regularly shoots up heroin and the highly addictive painkiller oxycodone - dubbed hillbilly heroin.
The article went on to say the former child star turned his Manhattan apartment into a drug den where he gets high either by himself or with friends.
Life imitating art? Macaulay played a drug-addled club hopper in the 2003 film Party Monster alongside Seth Green
Responding to the allegations earlier this week, Ms Bega said: 'The report in the National Enquirer that Macaulay Culkin is addicted to heroin and assorted hallucinogenics is not only categorically without merit, but it is also impossibly and ridiculously fictitious.'
She added that the story was 'destructive and insulting,' to her client.
A source told the publication: 'Macaulay Culkin is hooked on drugs and it's killing him.The Enquirer says Culkin's drug use intensified 18 months ago - around the time he split from long-term girlfriend Mila Kunis, who is now dating Ashton Kutcher.
'He's been hooked for a year and a half, and his drug of choice is either heroin or oxycodone.
'Mac is surrounding himself with junkies and lowlifes. It's a real tragedy.'
The source - described by the Enquirer as a 'close friend' - also claimed Culkin has had a close brush with death in the past year and almost overdosed.
'Mac suffered a near overdose, and needed help,' the insider said.
'Fortunately he didn't need to call 911 and the near-OD was kept quiet among his pals. But Mac got very sick.'
In February, pictures of of Culkin looking emaciated and shockingly thin made headlines.
At the time his representatives strenuously denied the actor was addicted to prescription drugs or heroin amid reports the 5-foot-7 star's weight had dropped to 104lbs.
Macaulay is best know for his roles as cheeky Kevin McCallister in the 1990 film Home Alone and the 1992 sequel, Home Alone: Lost In New York.
He also starred in the likes of Uncle Buck, My Girl and Richie Rich.
But his adult career has failed to match the blockbuster success of his childhood days.
Healthier looking: The actor's drug addiction is said to have intensified after his split from long-term girlfriend Mila Kunis, around 18 months ago, pictured in 2005
In 2003 he played a drug-addled club hopper alongside Seth Green in Party Monster, while his last film role was in 2007 in the Indie flick Sex And Breakfast.
These days he earns a living DJ-ing at clubs around New York.
Culkin's half sister Jennifer Adamson died of a drug overdose in 2000.
In 2004 he was arrested on suspicion of marijuana and two controlled substances - Alprazolam and Clonazepam - eventually pleading guilty to misdemeanour drug offences. He was slapped with three one-year suspended prison terms.
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