Rebel Wilson breaks silence on ‘grubby’ outing ordeal

Rebel Wilson came out amid controversial circumstances in June – now, she’s ready to talk about the hard days that followed.

Australian actress Rebel Wilson has broken her silence about the controversial circumstances that led to her publicly coming out earlier this year, labelling the entire ordeal “grubby.”

Wilson, 42, announced via her Instagram in June that she was in her first same-sex relationship, and is dating LA fashion designer Ramona Agruma.

But the Sydney Morning Herald then revealed that it had known about the relationship before it was public and had given Wilson two days to respond to questions about her love life.

The newspaper has copped backlash after publishing a column by journalist Andrew Hornery complaining about how she announced the relationship herself – before its editor released a further statement insisting it had not pressured Wilson into coming out.

At the time, the Pitch Perfect actress said simply that it had been “a very hard situation” that she was trying to “handle with grace.”

Stream more entertainment news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Rebel Wilson (R) with Ramona Agruma attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. Arturo Holmes/FilmMagic

But in a new interview with The Australian she took aim at the SMH for forcing her hand when it came to telling the world about her sexuality.

“I just thought it was kind of grubby behaviour,” Wilson said.

“Basically, with the situation where a journalist is threatening to out you, you’ve got to hurry, and some people we didn’t get a chance to tell before it came out publicly. And that’s not ideal,” she said.

Wilson described the SMH’s move – and the global outrage that followed – as a “hard few days,” particularly for her girlfriend, who was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal and that we should kind of be forced to make an announcement about it. But that happened,” she told The Australian.

In May, Wilson teased that she was “happily” in a relationship but did not reveal the identity of her partner.

Wedding belles? The couple sparked engagement rumours with this loved-up snap.

The following month, she made her relationship Instagram official: “I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince … but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess,” Wilson wrote in a caption of a selfie with Ramona.

In an opinion piece published days later, Sydney Morning Herald columnist Hornery revealed that he had prior knowledge of Wilson’s relationship and had given her two days to provide him with a statement, describing it a “big mistake” to give her a heads-up seeing as she then made the announcement herself on social media.

“Wilson opted to gazump the story, posting about her new ‘Disney Princess’ on Instagram early Friday morning, the same platform she had previously used to brag about her handsome ex-boyfriend, wealthy American beer baron Jacob Busch,” he wrote.

Months later, Wilson and Agruma’s relationship appears to be going from strength to strength: The couple even sparked rumours of an engagement after being photographed together with what seemed to be a sparkling diamond ring on Wilson’s engagement finger.