Rebel Wilson awarded millions in Australia defamation case

Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A judge awarded Rebel Wilson record damages of 4.56 million Australian dollars ($3.66 million) on Wednesday over magazine articles the actress said cost her roles in Hollywood films.

A Supreme Court jury in Australia's Victoria state had decided in June the articles claiming she lied about her age, origins of her first name and her upbringing in Sydney were defamatory.

Justice John Dixon said a substantial award amount was required to "vindicate" Wilson after her reputation as an "actress of integrity was wrongly damaged."

Bauer Media, publisher of the Australian magazines Woman's Day, Australian Women's Weekly, NW and OK, said it was considering the judgment.

The 37-year-old Wilson, best known for the comedies "Pitch Perfect" and "Bridesmaids," was in London on Wednesday and her lawyers were unable to immediately talk to her about the decision.

Wilson said on Twitter that the case "wasn't about the money."

"I'm looking forward to helping out some great Australian charities and supporting the Oz film industry with the damages I've received," she tweeted. "Also looking forward to getting back to my career and entertaining everyone!"

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. When the jury delivered its verdict they answered every single question in my favor. I am eternally grateful to those ladies. Today Justice Dixon gave his considered full judgement. He accepted that Bauer Media subjected me to a sustained and malicious attack timed precisely to the launch of Pitch Perfect 2. It was hurtful and devastating that a corporation would do something like that, knowing that their paid anonymous source and stories were dodgy. The learned judge accepted without qualification that I had an extremely high reputation and that the damage inflicted on me was substantial. He said that the nature of this aggravated defamation and the unprecedented extent of its dissemination (meaning it caused a worldwide media firestorm) makes vindication of particular importance. It was important for me to set the record straight, especially because I have so many young fans. I also feel like it's important to stand up to bullies. I have been awarded a record sum from Justice Dixon. I will be putting that money to good use by donating it to charity and investing in an Australian film ( but obviously can't say exactly or do anything now as I won't receive the money until everything is finalized). I thank Justice Dixon so much. And I'm looking forward to getting back to entertaining everyone!

A post shared by Rebel Wilson (@rebelwilson) on Sep 13, 2017 at 5:28am PDT

Her lawyer Richard Leder said outside court the damages were about four times higher than the previous Australian record for a defamation case.

Her legal team would also apply for Bauer to pay all her legal costs, Leder said.

She had sought more than AU$7 million.

Bauer Media had branded that damage claim "extraordinarily large" and made on the "most tenuous of basis."

Bauer lawyer Georgina Schoff told the judge that Wilson had failed to prove the articles caused her financial losses.

Bauer failed to prove the articles published in 2015 were substantially true or that they were unlikely to harm her career.

The jury found Bauer had said Wilson lied about her age, claiming to be six years younger, and had falsely claimed to have been named Rebel at birth.

They also found Bauer had said Wilson lied about having a hallucination about winning an Academy Award while sick with malaria, about her parents being dog trainers, about being related to U.S. entertainment entrepreneur Walt Disney and about being raised in a "ghetto" area of Sydney.

Wilson blamed the articles for film contracts being terminated.