After a three-week trial, Rebel Wilson has won her defamation case against Bauer Media.
Wilson claimed that a series of articles run by Bauer in 2015 damaged her reputation in Hollywood and ultimately led to her losing roles, and that the publisher presented a view that she had crafted a persona of herself to help make it in the United States.
The initial article, which ran in ‘Women’s Day’, claimed that Wilson had lied about her real name, upbringing and age, and called into question her authenticity. In order to win the case, Wilson had to convince a jury that she wasn’t the serial liar the publisher had seemingly made her out to be.
Outside the court house Wilson told media, “You’ve probably heard of tall poppy syndrome, this happened to me in the worst possible way… I didn’t deserve it.”
“This has definitely been a long and hard fight,” she continued, “I felt that I had to take a stand, I had to stand-up to a bully. A huge media organisation… who maliciously took me down in May 2015 with a series of grubby and completely false articles.
Calling the articles “disgusting and disgraceful”, Wilson said it wasn’t about settling an end figure.
“It’s not about the number,” Wilson said, “I was hoping the jury would send the right message. For me, it’s over in my mind and in that respect, it’s up to the judge.
“I really love my job as an actress and an entertainer and now I look forward to rebuilding my career.”
The case featured an array of entertainment for the jury, with clips of Wilson’s films, her award show appearances, even an entire episode of ‘Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery’ was screened during the trial.
There was a lengthy discussion about Wilson’s claims that she was a distant relative of Walt Disney, with the star claiming it was “something she had always known”.
Wilson told the jury that she was a member of an exclusive, invitation-only Disney club, and ‘Packed to the Rafters’ star Hugh Sheridan appeared via video link to tell the court how he and Wilson had visited a secret apartment where, at the touch of a button, mermaids would appear in pictures on the walls.
Wilson claimed the initial article, and seven others that ran across Bauer’s other publications, led to her being fired from several projects including the animated films ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ and ‘Trolls’, and resulted in a lack of opportunities and movie offers. The articles came out just after ‘Pitch Perfect 2’.
The dollar figure on damages will be set by Justice Dixon at a later date.
