“Pitch Perfect” actress Rebel Wilson won her defamation lawsuit against a tabloid print magazine. The court ordered Bauer Media, the publisher of Women's Day and Australian Women’s Weekly magazines in Australia, to pay up $3.6 million ($4.5 million in Australian dollars) in damages.
The judge found Bauer Media guilty of printing stories about the actress that had no substantial claims. The publication alleged Rebel Wilson lied about her age and her childhood in order to make it big in Hollywood.
The stories painted Rebel Wilson as untrustworthy and a serial liar who cannot be taken seriously.
But the judge said that the publication did not properly investigate the claims and proceeded to print stories from a source whom the editor said had a grudge on the actress.
Largest defamation payout in Australia
Rebel Wilson's lawyers said via CNN that the payout is the "largest defamation damages award” that ever happened in the legal system in Australia. Justice John Dixon cited in court that the amount was intentional in order to vindicate the actress.
"Unless substantial damages are awarded there is a real risk that the public will not be convinced of the seriousness of the defamation," the judge said. "[It] will rather wrongly conclude that the articles were trivial or not that serious."
Australian vs. American laws on defamation
Australian defamation laws are miles different from the United States.
Publications in America can keep publishing false stories or fake news for as long as malice on the part of the writer or the media outlet cannot be proven. In Australia, damaging a public figure’s reputation through gossip could not be justifiable especially if it doesn't benefit the public interest.
Rebel Wilson claimed the false stories did serious damage to her career because she lost two leading roles in Hollywood.
She and her lawyers initially filed a $7 million suit and later sought to settle out of court for $200,000. But Bauer Media refused thinking it would win the case, according to The Guardian.
The actress, who shot to fame for her role as Fat Amy in “Pitch Perfect,” plans to donate the payout to charities in Australia. She will soon be seen in the movie’s third installment, which arrives in theaters in December.
The full details of the court's judgment and orders in the Wilson vs. Bauer Media Pty Ltd defamation case are published on the Supreme Court of Victoria official site.
