Bauer Media defamation payout to Rebel Wilson slashed to $600,000

Rebel Wilson’s record $4.5m defamation payment has been slashed to $600,000 after Bauer Media won its appeal.

Rebel Wilson walks out of the Court of Appeal last month. Picture: Getty Images.

Rebel Wilson’s record $4.5m defamation payment has been slashed to $600,000 after Bauer Media had a major victory in its appeal against the amount of the damages award.

The company had appealed against a Supreme Court of Victoria order that the Pitch Perfect star be compensated a record $650,000 in general damages and $3,917,472 in special damages.

It came after the company was found to have defamed the 38-year-old star in a series of articles published in 2015 that painted her as a serial liar about her age, real name and childhood in order to make it in Hollywood.

#BREAKING: A court has decided that Aussie actress @RebelWilson will only receive $600 thousand-dollars slashed from a payout of $4.5 million in defamation damages from "bully" magazine publisher Bauer media. #TenNews pic.twitter.com/afYn0wNkqe

— TEN Eyewitness News (@channeltennews) June 13, 2018

The Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Melbourne this morning; Wilson was not present in court for the ruling.

Yesterday, Wilson, who is on location in Europe, tweeted: “While this case was never about the money for me, I do hope to receive as much as posible to give away to charities and to support the Australian film industry.”

What happens tomorrow is to do with the losers @bauermedia quibbling about how much they now have to pay me. While this case was never about the money for me, I do hope to receive as much as possible to give away to charities and to support the Australian film industry. 🐨

— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 13, 2018

Bauer welcomed the court’s decision today. Speaking on behalf of the company, Bauer Media General Counsel Adrian Goss said: “It was important for us to revisit the award of damages. The legal process has run its course and Bauer welcomes the court’s decision to set aside the entire award of damages for economic loss. We will consider the implications of the judgement in relation to the cap on defamation damages, which has broader implications for the media industry. In the lead up to today, major media organisations united in an unprecedented way to support Bauer’s appeal in relation to that issue.”

During a two-day appeal hearing in Melbourne in April, Bauer’s barrister Michael Wheelahan QC argued the level of damages was “manifestly excessive”. He said Justice Dixon made an error when he ordered Wilson be compensated for losing film roles.

But Wilson’s $9000-a-day barrister Matthew Collins QC argued the payout figure was conservative considering the actor could have taken eight different proceedings — one for each article — and been awarded much more money overall. He also said publication of the articles and Bauer’s conduct during the trial went “beyond ordinary bounds” in terms of aggravating features.