Rebel Wilson vows to fight judgement slashing her Bauer defamation payout
Rebel Wilson has said she will appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision to slash her defamation payout from $4.5m to $600,000, describing the Court as “flippant” about her economic loss and “overall hurt and distress”.
Wilson took to Twitter early this morning to tell her followers she looked forward to appealing yesterday’s judgement by the Victorian Court of Appeal.
“There’s some really bizarre things in there guys that are so obviously challengeable!” she added.
Wilson was originally awarded $4.5m last September, the biggest defamation payout in Australian history, after she alleged she was defamed in several articles published in 2015 by Bauer Media, including a Woman’s Day story titled ‘Just who is the REAL Rebel?’.
The articles alleged Wilson had lied about her age, her name and her upbringing in Australia, and were featured across Australian magazines, including Bauer’s Australian Women’s Weekly, New Weekly and OK Magazine.
Wilson argued the ‘serial liar’ allegations had ruined her reputation and cost her lucrative movie roles.
The original payout was made up of $650,000 in general damages and $3,917,472 in special damages. But yesterday The Court of Appeal reduced the general damages payout and found the special damages to be wrongly awarded.
“Everybody knows I lost money after those maliciously defamatory articles were printed about me by @bauermedia in 2015. The learned trial judge and Australian jury on the case who heard all the evidence clearly agreed,” Wilson said.
“Was it wrong of me to pledge that the money received from the case was going to good causes?? To me, after working tirelessly day and night to rebuild my career, I thought it was the right thing to do.
“But somehow the Court of Appeal have been absolutely flippant with regards to my economic loss, not to mention my overall hurt and distress at having to stand up to these bullies.”
I was hoping the Court of Appeal in Australia would deliver a reasonable judgement today….ummmmm seeing as that HAS CLEARLY NOT happened I look forward to appealing! There’s some really bizarre things in there guys that are so obviously challengeable!
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 14, 2018
Everybody knows I lost money after those maliciously defamatory articles were printed about me by @bauermedia in 2015. The learned trial judge and Australian jury on the case who heard all the evidence clearly agreed.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 14, 2018
Was it wrong of me to pledge that the money received from the case was going to good causes?? To me, after working tirelessly day and night to rebuild my career, I thought it was the right thing to do.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 14, 2018
But somehow the Court of Appeal have been absolutely flippant with regards to my economic loss, not to mention my overall hurt and distress at having to stand up to these bullies.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 14, 2018
That’s now $4 million less going to less fortunate Australians and leaves a billionaire corporation, proven guilty of malicious defamation, being able to get away with their seriously harmful acts for a very low pay day! Clearly not fair. Come on Australia ??
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 14, 2018
Yesterday, Bauer Media’s general counsel, Adrian Goss, said: “It was important for us to revisit the award of damages. The legal process has run its course and Bauer welcomes the court’s decision to set aside the entire award of damages for economic loss.
Goss also referenced the case’s broader implications for the media industry as a whole.
All I can say is, wow…
How does one company have so much drama ensuing in that building?
Oh well, it’s providing fantastic content for all of us to read.
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The only thing I find legit in the Woman’s Day (in the doctor’s waiting room – never paid for one) are the recipes.
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Disgruntled ex employee perhaps? You seem to comment a lot on Bauer content….
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Not surprising, since there’s so many many Bauer/ACP disgruntled ex-employees.
Bauer is the Trump of Australian publishing…what with all that “great content” they output. Is it not surprising they’re so universally loathed, even by their own employees/ex-employees?
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I thought Reb sed, just yesterday, that the case “wasn’t about money”. Now, it’s suddenly, become very much about money. Perhaps she may have been a touch quick off the mark by promising others a big stash of cash before she actually got her pudgy little fing – geeze on the bread.
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