Rebel Wilson loses bid to keep most of defamation payout
SYDNEY, Australia — Rebel Wilson said she was glad she’d stood up to “a bully” despite losing her bid Friday to keep most of the record payout awarded to her in her defamation case against an Australian magazine.
The actress had sued Woman’s Day magazine last year over a series of articles in 2015 that she said had painted her as someone who’d lied about her real name, age and childhood in order to make it in Hollywood.
The Supreme Court of Victoria state awarded her an Australian-record payout of $3.4 million ($4.7 million AUD) after a jury concluded she’d missed out on film roles because of the articles. Wilson had sought $5 million ($7 million AUD) in damages.
But this June the amount was reduced by 90 per cent after the magazine’s publishers, Bauer Media, appealed. Victoria’s Court of Appeal said Wilson could not prove economic loss, or that she’d missed out on film contracts as a result of the articles. The court ordered the actress to pay back almost $3 million ($4.1 million AUD), and 80 per cent of Bauer’s legal costs.