By 2015, Rebel Wilson was a full-blown movie star. Which meant, of course, there was a subset of the media dedicated to tearing her down. Bauer Media, the publisher of a number of Australian magazines, developed a strange obsession with Wilson. They published articles claiming she lied about her age, her name, and all sorts of details about her life. It was bizarre.
https://twitter.com/RebelWilson/status/600336130777718785
Her jokes aside, Wilson claimed these articles directly damaged her career. That’s not hard to believe, especially when it comes to questions of age in an industry where we constantly hear stories of women deemed too old to play the love interest of men decades their senior. Wilson sued Bauer Media for defamation, and back in June, a Supreme Court jury unanimously ruled in her favor. This week, the judge in the case awarded her 4.56 million Australian dollars ($3.66 million American), the highest sum ever awarded in Australian court.
Justin John Dixon explained the amount by saying, “Substantial vindication can only be achieved by an award of damages that underscores that Ms. Wilson’s reputation as an actress of integrity was wrongly damaged in a manner that affected her marketability in a huge worldwide marketplace.”
But Wilson had already said this wasn’t about money, and reportedly even offered to settle for $200K. After her win, she promised that any sum she received from the judge would go to “charity, scholarships or invested into the Aussie film industry to provide jobs.”
Today was the end of a long and hard court battle against Bauer Media who viciously tried to take me down with a series of false articles.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
When the jury delivered its verdict they answered every single point in my favour.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
Today Justice Dixon accepted that Bauer Media subjected me to a sustained and malicious attack timed to coincide with the launch of Pitch 2
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
The judge accepted without qualification that I had an extremely high reputation and that the damage inflicted on me was substantial.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
He said the nature of the aggravated defamation and the unprecedented extent of dissemination makes vindication of particular importance.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
The judge said he knew that the info from anonymous paid source was false.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
And that Bauer Media traded recklessly on my reputation in order to boost its own profits
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
Justice Dixon has awarded me a record sum and I’m extremely grateful for that. It is 4 times the Australian record.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
To me though, this case wasn’t about the money.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
I’m looking forward to helping out some great Australian charities and supporting the Oz film industry with the damages I’ve received.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
Also looking forward to getting back to my career and entertaining everyone! 😊
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
Thank you again for the love and support! I am humbled x
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) September 13, 2017
(via Hollywood Reporter, image: Shutterstock)
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