Wilson’s High Court bid rejected

THE final curtain has been drawn on Rebel Wilson’s defamation battle against Bauer Media.

Australia’s highest court has knocked back the Hollywood star’s bid to appeal against a decision that forced her to repay $4.1 million worth of damages.

But Wilson, who attended the brief hearing in Canberra yesterday, is proud she took her fight as far as she could.

“The whole reason for bringing this case is that I really wanted to stand up to a bully, which is Bauer Media,” she said.

Wilson’s barristers, Matthew Collins, QC, and Renee Enbom, had sought special leave to appeal at the court after she was forced to repay almost 90 per cent of her record $4.7 million payout to the Woman’s Day publisher that defamed her.

During her defamation trial in the Victorian Supreme Court last year, Wilson proved journalists from Bauer had painted her as a serial liar about her real name, age and childhood in order to make it in Hollywood.

Justice John Dixon awarded the Los Angeles-based star a record-breaking Australian damages payout.

But Bauer successfully appealed against the amount in June, with the Court of Appeal finding there was no basis for Wilson to be awarded damages for the potential loss of roles.

Mr Collins argued yesterday the appeals court had reviewed facts established by Justice Dixon without putting them through necessary legal tests. “What the court of appeal did was not confine itself to the facts found by the trial judge,” he told the High Court.

Lawyer for Bauer Media, David Jackson, QC, said that point was based on a “misconception of the appropriate tests”.

“The court of appeal looked carefully at the evidence and found that the case had not been made out,” Mr Jackson said.