You've seen Rebel Wilson in Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids, but the comedic actress has been at the center of a not-so-funny lawsuit.
Wilson has publicized her lawsuit against Bauer Media Group, who she claimed published a 'series of false articles' about her which cost her jobs in Hollywood. In mid-June, the actress finished her testimony against Bauer Media Group in Australia.
The jury agreed with Wilson's testimony but it took two months before the award was decided upon.
Now, the payout has been decided, and it's the largest one in Australian legal history. It also sets a precedent for future gossip sites.
So what did Wilson get, and what exactly did these false articles say that would cost Wilson work?
Two years ago, a former classmate of Wilson's 'exposed' her allegedly serial lying habit to the tabloid Woman's Day. The classmate explained how Wilson lied about her age, backstory, and even her name. Bauer Media Group went on to publish a series of eight articles with this information, which Wilson claims cost her work.
According to Dr. Matthew Collins, Rebel Wilson's lawyer, his client had been lined up for rolls in the blockbuster hits Kung Fu Panda 3 and Trolls but was let go after the claims of Wilson's serial lying surfaced. Both films said it did not look good for press to have someone with such a controversial background appear in family films.
Wilson sued Bauer Media Group and made it clear that she wanted to change the way media reports on celebrities:
"The reason I'm here is not for damages, it's to clear my name," Wilson told press outside of the courtroom. "And the fact the jury has done that unanimously and answered every single of the 40 questions in my favour I think proves what I've been saying all along. I was hoping the jury would do the right thing and send a message to these tabloids and they've done that so for me, it's over in my mind. Unfortunately, this was the only way that I could stand up to this huge media organisation was by taking them to court publicly. I'm a person that's really confident in my own skin and really felt like it was the right thing to do to take this company on and prove how disgusting and disgraceful their chequebook journalism is."
Today, it was announced that Rebel Wilson would be receiving $4.5 million AUS, which equates to $3.5 million USD. This is the largest settlement for defamation ever awarded in Australia.
"Unless substantial damages are awarded there is a real risk that the public will not be convinced of the seriousness of the defamation, but will rather wrongly conclude that the articles were trivial or not that serious," justice John Dixon said.
Wilson says she will be donating the money to charity.
Do you think this will change the way tabloids write about celebrities?