Rebel Wilson awarded £2.75m in damages
HOLLYWOOD star Rebel Wilson has been awarded £2.75million in damages over magazine articles she claims cost her film roles.
The payout to the Pitch Perfect star is said to be the highest ever awarded for a defamation case in Australia.
The actress successfully sued Bauer Media after articles in Woman’s Day, Australian Women’s Weekly and OK magazine alleged she had lied about her age, real name and fabricated events about her childhood.
Judges at the supreme court in Melbourne yesterday ruled a substantial payout was required to ‘vindicate’ Wilson after her reputation as an ‘actress of integrity was wrongly damaged’.
The actress, 36, who was in London yesterday, later tweeted the case ‘wasn’t about the money’. She wrote: ‘I’m looking forward to helping out some great Australian charities and supporting the Oz film industry with the damages I’ve received.
‘Also looking forward to getting back to my career and entertaining everyone,’ she added.
Her lawyer Richard Leder said Wilson would also apply for Bauer to pay all her legal costs.
The publisher said it would consider the judgment.
The articles in 2015 alleged Wilson had falsely claimed to have been called Rebel at birth and claimed to be six years younger than she was.
They also alleged the Bridesmaids star ‘lied’ about being related to Walt Disney and about being raised in a ‘ghetto’ area of Sydney.
Author: Andrei Harmsworth
