Rebel Wilson Addresses Controversial Way Newspaper Handled News of Her Same-Sex Relationship

Rebel Wilson took to Twitter over the weekend to thank Kate Doak, journalist for the Australian network newscast 10 News First, for her remarks in response to an opinion piece written by Sydney Morning Herald columnist Andrew Hornery, in which he seemed bothered by the actress coming out before the newspaper could “out” her. 

“Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace,” Wilson wrote. 

On Thursday, Wilson shared a photo of herself with fashion designer Ramona Agruma, with the caption, “I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess 💗🌈💗#loveislove.”

Hornery alleges in his piece that Wilson’s representatives were contacted Thursday morning and given two days to comment on her relationship with Agruma, adding, “Wilson opted to gazump the story, posting about her new ‘Disney Princess.’” Hornery also called the decision to request a response from Wilson to the impending article a “big mistake.” 

Sydney Morning Herald editor Bevan Shields penned a note of his own following Hornery’s piece, pushing back against the narrative that the newspaper was attempting to out Wilson. “I had made no decision about whether or what to publish, and the Herald’s decision about what to do would have been informed by any response Wilson supplied,” Shields wrote. 

“Coming out is a deeply personal decision. Whether, when and how to come out should be decided by the individual, entirely on their terms,” a spokesperson for Stonewall said, per BBC. “It is simply not OK to ‘out’ LGBTQ+ people or put pressure on us to come out. Media outlets should take care not to sensationalise LGBTQ+ lives and relationships.”