Rebel Wilson to appeal against decision to cut $4.5 million defamation payout from Bauer Media
Updated
Rebel Wilson has vowed to fight a court decision which will see her miss out on nearly $4 million.
Key points:
- Wilson called decision "really bizarre" and will appeal
- Payment from Bauer Media reduced from $4.5 million to $600,000
- Would have been largest defamation payout in Australian history
Ms Wilson was originally awarded $4.5 million in damages against Bauer Media last September, but that decision was overturned in court yesterday.
Her payout was reduced to $600,000, with Victoria's Court of Appeal ruling there was "no basis in the evidence for making any award of damages for economic loss".
The court found trial judge Justice John Dixon had relied on evidence from Ms Wilson and Hollywood agents to draw the conclusion the actress had lost job opportunities due to the articles.
Overnight the Australian Pitch Perfect star said the judgement was "clearly not fair".
In a series of tweets, she described the decision as "really bizarre".
"Everybody knows I lost money after those maliciously defamatory articles were printed about me by Bauer Media in 2015. The learned trial judge and Australian jury on the case who heard all the evidence clearly agreed," she wrote.
"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."
The original sum would have been the largest defamation payment ever ordered by an Australian court, and several media organisations questioned whether the decision set a new precedent for defamation payments.
Topics: courts-and-trials, actor, people, melbourne-3000
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