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BFF-17
AUSTRALIA-CELEBRITY
Record Australia payout to Rebel Wilson slashed on appeal
MELBOURNE, June 14, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Hollywood actress Rebel Wilson’s
Australian record defamation payout was slashed on appeal Thursday to just
Aus$600,000 (US$454,000) in a major win for publisher Bauer Media.
The “Pitch Perfect” star was awarded Aus$4.5 million in damages against
the group last September over articles claiming she lied about her age and
background to further her career.
It was the largest defamation win in Australian legal history and Bauer
appealed, arguing the size of the settlement set a dangerous precedent and
there were errors of law in the judgement.
The Victorian Court of Appeal agreed, setting aside the decision to award
her just over Aus$3.9 million for economic losses. It also cut the
Aus$650,000 compensation figure for non-economic loss to Aus$600,000.
Wilson had claimed a series of articles in Woman’s Day, Australian Women’s
Weekly and OK Magazine in 2015 had portrayed her as a serial liar and damaged
her reputation.
The Sydney-born actress told the trial she was sacked from DreamWorks
animated feature films “Trolls” and “Kung Fu Panda 3” following the stories.
But the Court of Appeal said there was no basis for her to receive financial
damages for the potential loss of roles.
It found that the previous judge had relied on evidence from Wilson and
two Hollywood agents to draw the conclusion that she had lost job
opportunities.
“The Court of Appeal held that, for a considerable number of reasons, the
critical inferences drawn by the judge could not be upheld,” the summary of
judgement said.
“It followed that the judge’s award of damages for economic loss had to be
set aside… there was no basis in the evidence for making any award of
damages for economic loss.”
Wilson, 38, is in Europe filming and was not in court.
She had previously vowed to give her entire payout to charity and tweeted
Wednesday it was never about the money.
“What happens tomorrow (Thursday) is to do with the losers @bauermedia
quibbling about how much they now have to pay me,” she said.
“While this case was never about the money for me, I do hope to receive as
much as possible to give away to charities and to support the Australian film
industry.”
BSS/AFP/AU/08:45 hrs