European media group found guilty of defaming actress by calling her a 'serial liar'

  MELBOURNE – The Supreme Court of Victoria has awarded Australian actress Rebel Wilson US$3.6 million (4.5 million Australian dollars) in a defamation case against a magazine published by European group Bauer Media.  

Today was the end of a long and hard court battle against Bauer Media who viciously tried to take me down with a series of false articles. When the jury delivered its verdict they answered every single question in my favor. I am eternally grateful to those ladies. Today Justice Dixon gave his considered full judgement. He accepted that Bauer Media subjected me to a sustained and malicious attack timed precisely to the launch of Pitch Perfect 2. It was hurtful and devastating that a corporation would do something like that, knowing that their paid anonymous source and stories were dodgy. The learned judge accepted without qualification that I had an extremely high reputation and that the damage inflicted on me was substantial. He said that the nature of this aggravated defamation and the unprecedented extent of its dissemination (meaning it caused a worldwide media firestorm) makes vindication of particular importance. It was important for me to set the record straight, especially because I have so many young fans. I also feel like it's important to stand up to bullies. I have been awarded a record sum from Justice Dixon. I will be putting that money to good use by donating it to charity and investing in an Australian film ( but obviously can't say exactly or do anything now as I won't receive the money until everything is finalized). I thank Justice Dixon so much. And I'm looking forward to getting back to entertaining everyone!

A post shared by Rebel Wilson (@rebelwilson) on

  According to Wilson's lawyers, the amount is the "largest defamation damages award in Australian legal history." The decision came after a unanimous jury verdict in June that Bauer Media, which publishes Woman's Day magazine, had defamed Wilson by calling her a "serial liar" for "fabricating almost every aspect of her life". Woman's Day magazine came out with articles that said Wilson lied about her name, age and childhood so she could make it in Hollywood. Wilson claimed that as a result of the articles, she failed to land "several prominent film roles and other opportunities" that followed the success of the 2015 musical film "Pitch Perfect 2" where she co-starred with Anna Kendrick and several other actresses. Victoria Supreme Court Justice John Dixon said Bauer Media had failed prove their claims about Wilson. Bauer Media said in a statement it was "considering today's judgment". Adrian Gross, general counsel for Bauer Media, said the company "has a long history of delivering great stories to our readers and we have a reputation for developing some of the best editorial teams in this country." Wilson, for her part, said on Twitter that she was going through the judgment with her lawyer and would make a statement soon. Wilson did not attend the court hearing as she's in the UK. Wilson's lawyer Richard Leder said however that the court's decision "recognizes the serious harm caused to Rebel's reputation and held Bauer Media to account for what the judge accepted was an orchestrated campaign against her." The amount awarded to Wilson is broken down as follows: US$522,000 ($650,000 Australian) in general damages, and US$3.1 million ($3.9 million Australian) in special damages for Wilsons' "opportunity for new screen roles lost by reason of the defendant's publications." Dixon defended the amount of payout for Wilson saying, "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." GAC/Expat 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