Court orders Wilson to repay 4.2M
Orders actress to repay $4.2 million of record $4.7-million defamation award
An Australian court has ordered Rebel Wilson to pay back most of the $4.7-million defamation damages she won from Bauer Media last year.
The Australian comedian won the record-breaking sum in September after she sued Bauer bosses over a series of magazine articles claiming she had lied about her age and background. She was originally awarded more than $4.7 million after a court in Victoria, Australia, agreed with her that the stories had damaged her reputation and cost her movie roles.
But earlier this month, Bauer won its appeal against the size of the payout. The Guardian reports that on Wednesday, Victoria’s Court of Appeal ordered Wilson to repay $4.2 million — a sum covering $3.9 million in damages relating to loss of income, plus legal fees, and interest.
The Pitch Perfect actress did not dispute the decision she should repay the damages but argued interest should be charged at 1.5 per cent rather than the two per cent lawyers for the media company had sought.Court officials disagreed and also ordered her to pay 80 per cent of the legal fees incurred by Bauer’s appeal.
The firm paid the $4.7 million within three weeks of the original judgment — money Wilson said she wanted to hand to charities and Australian film industry organizations.
The award was an Australian record — since a judge ruled her global reputation meant a $306,000 cap on damages did not apply.
Addressing her fans on Twitter before the ruling earlier this month, she reiterated that she had won her case and still hoped to make donations to charity.
“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,” she said.