Wilson back in court fighting to keep record defamation payout
REBEL WILSON has returned to court to fight a magazine publisher’s appeal against an order to pay the Australian actress a record $AUS4.6m (£2.5m) in damages for defamation.
The award was made over articles claiming she lied about her age, the origin of her first name and her upbringing in Sydney.
The 38-year-old comic, best known for the movies
and sat with her mother Sue Bownds in a packed Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal in Melbourne but did not give evidence.
Bauer Media, which publishes Australian magazines
argued that the largest defamation payout in Australia legal history awarded against the German company in September was “manifestly excessive”.
Bauer’s lawyer, Michael Wheelahan, said the publisher would not appeal against the defamation verdict reached by a jury in July.
Bauer is challenging the finding that Wilson should be compensated for film roles, including and which she claimed she had lost following the publications in 2015.
Mr Wheelahan argued Wilson’s career earnings had been on an upward trajectory in 2015 with a few “speed bumps” along the way, but there was no evidence that the articles had any influence.
He argued that Hollywood agent Peter Principato, an industry person “on the grapevine”, had not heard of the defamatory articles at the time.
Speaking outside court, Wilson said Hollywood had been well aware of her case.
Bauer “maliciously defamed me and I’m here to hold them accountable for that”, she said.
She said she felt very confident that her legal team would defeat the appeal.
The hearing before three judges is set to continue today.
Before the trial, Bauer rejected Wilson’s offer to settle the case for $Aus200,000 (£109,185).