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Celebrity

13th Jun 2022

Australian newspaper issues apology but denies forcing Rebel Wilson to come out

Sarah McKenna Barry

The paper claimed that they had been “gazumped” after Rebel came out on Instagram.

Last week, Pitch Perfect actress Rebel Wilson shared the news that she is dating a woman.

On her Instagram page, Wilson posted a photo of herself and her girlfriend Ramona Agruma. In the caption, she wrote: “I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess.”

The day after Rebel’s announcement, a column appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald which claimed that they knew about Rebel’s new relationship and offered her two days to respond to it before publishing their own story.

The column, which has since been removed, saw reporter Andrew Hornery complain about his story being “gazumped” by the actress, who announced the news on her own terms.

He wrote that Rebel’s “choice to ignore our discreet, genuine and honest queries was, in our view, underwhelming”.

The publication has since issued an apology to Rebel, however, they deny forcing her to come out.

What’s more, the newspaper’s editor, Bevan Shields, issued a note on Saturday which denied outing Rebel and said that the reporter “simply asked questions and as standard practice included a deadline for a response”.

In a column published today, Mr Hornery wrote that they had “mishandled” the situation and issued an apology.

He wrote: “It is not the Herald’s business to ‘out’ people and that is not what we set out to do. But I understand why my email has been seen as a threat. The framing of it was a mistake.”

He also said that as a gay man, he is aware of the discrimination the LGBT+ community face and wrote that he wouldn’t want to “inflict pain” on anyone.

Mr Hornery continued: “I got it wrong. I allowed my disappointment to cast a shadow over the piece. That was not fair and I apologise.”