Rebel Wilson Won Her Defamation Lawsuit

Rebel Wilson’s legal fight against Bauer Media over her true identity started two years ago when a former classmate of hers gave the Australian tabloid Woman’s Day yearbook proof that she had lied about her name, age, and created a colorful autobiography about growing up “bogan.” Rebel sued Bauer Media, the publisher of Woman’s Day, for defamation and claimed she had lost work after Hollywood found out she was actually 37 and not in her late 20s. The Guardian says an Australian jury agreed that Rebel’s career got screwed over, and a judge ruled in favor of Rebel today.

After a two-day deliberation, Rebel was awarded a yet-to-be determined amount of damages. Although Rebel told the press outside the courthouse that her fight has nothing to do with getting sweet revenge money. She says it was all about standing up to the bullies who tried to bring her down.

“The reason I’m here is not for damages, it’s to clear my name. 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.”

Later, she thanked the team that helped her beat Bauer Media.

Just crushed my defamation case in Australia x thank you to all my family, friends and supporters! I had to take a stand. I had to stand up to a bully, a media organization Bauer Media Group who maliciously took me down in May 2015 with a series of grubby and completely false articles. Far too often tabloid magazines and the 'journalists' who work for them don't abide by professional ethics. Far too often their conduct can only be described as disgraceful and disgusting! I'm glad that the lovely ladies of the jury have agreed with me. Their unanimous and overwhelming verdict has sent a clear message. I love my job as an actress and as an entertainer and I look forward to rebuilding my career now that the record has been set straight. Thank you so much everybody!

A post shared by Rebel Wilson (@rebelwilson) on Jun 14, 2017 at 11:52pm PDT

During her trial she claimed she was fired from Kung Fu Panda 3 because all the drama surrounding her fake-age and name made her “too divisive” for a family movie. She also claims she lost out on Trolls. Rebel has a lot of career building to do, which is never easy to do when you’re an actress edging dangerously close to (deep gulp) 40. But she seems to be off to a good start. Her IMDB page already lists two films in pre-production and one in post.

One of her upcoming films is a rom-com called Isn’t It Romantic co-starring Liam Hemsworth. Rebel told the press that whenever the stress of her court case started to get her down, she just thought about getting to “pash” (make out with) Liam. I bet there are people in line at the DMV who have also fantasized the same thing in an attempt to stay calm and centered. “Deep breath in, Linda. You’re on a relaxing beach, making out with Liam Hemsworth. You definitely aren’t standing behind someone who smells like dirty Crocs.”

Pic: Wenn.com