Rebel Wilson's private life has gone incredibly public

The actor has a new partner and it's caused quite a stir for all the wrong reasons.

The actor has a new partner and it's caused quite a stir for all the wrong reasons.

Rebel Wilson is in love.

The actor, who hails from Western Sydney, has been a breathe of fresh air since landing in Hollywood in every aspect - especially her laconic schtick and her choice of roles from Bridesmaids to Pitch Perfect to Netflix's new Senior Year.

However, it's her sexuality that is, sadly, now dominating the narrative about and around her. 

Last Friday morning she posted a sweet photo of herself and fashion designer Romana Agruma to Instagram, 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" along with the #loveislove and the rainbow and love heart emoji.

The post drew an overwhelmingly positive response from her fans and famous friends with more than 1.75m liking the photo.

A day after the Instagram post, The Sydney Morning Herald published a column penned by Andrew Hornery in which Wilson was accused of going public to "gazump" a story he was planning to write on the relationship.

The story, featured in the popular "Private Sydney" column, copped a raft of criticism online and overseas for seemingly attempting to "out" Wilson and her same-sex relationship, during Pride Month.

The now-deleted piece read:

"In a perfect world, "outing" same-sex celebrity relationships should be a redundant concept in 2022. Love is love, right?" 

"As Rebel Wilson knows, we do not live in a perfect world.

"So, it was with an abundance of caution and respect that this media outlet emailed Rebel Wilson's representatives on Thursday morning, giving her two days to comment on her new relationship with LA leisure wear designer Ramona Agruma, before publishing a single word.

"Big mistake. 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 …

"Considering how bitterly Wilson had complained about poor journalism standards when she successfully sued Woman's Day for defamation, her choice to ignore our discreet, genuine and honest queries was, in our view, underwhelming."

The paper issued a clarification late Sunday night, written by editor Bevan Shield, about why the original piece was pursued and published.

On Monday, Hornery wrote a new piece titled "I made mistakes over Rebel Wilson, and will learn from them."

In it he admitted his tone was "off" and he allowed his "disappointment to cast a shadow over the piece."

Wilson's former co-star and flatmate Matt Lucas chimed in.

Coming out is often a long, scary process, with many beats. Self-realisation, telling friends & family, a first relationship. I thought the press forcing people to out themselves, regardless of whether or not they were ready, was a thing of the past. I must have been mistaken.

— Matt Lucas (@RealMattLucas) June 12, 2022

And the publication was the centre of a roasting by popular (and progressive) Instagram account Saint Hoax, which has more than 3m followers.

Wilson has not formally commented on the incident and her management never replied to the SMH's requests for comment.

However, the actor did reply to a tweet. 

Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace 💗

— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 12, 2022

Wilson and the Aussie media have a complicated relationship

Back in 2017 she awarded more than $4.7m in compensation — the largest defamation damages payout ever ordered by an Australian court — after a jury found she missed out on film roles because the tabloid articles reported in 2015 that she had lied about her age, real name and childhood in Australia.

Wilson was then ordered to pay back some of that cash, about $4.1m, in 2018 after an appeal when a judge found "There was no basis in the evidence for making any award of damages for economic loss".

This most recent situation with The Sydney Morning Herald is not so much a legal issue as an ethical one.

Back in 2016 the Herald publicly apologised to "the 78ers" - the Mardi Gras founders, before the NSW government also officially said sorry.

It was a big deal and huge step forward for the LBGTQI community as back in June 1978, more than 500 activists took to Taylor Square in Darlinghurst in support and celebration of New York's Stonewall movement and to call for an end to criminalisation of homosexual acts and discrimination against homosexuals.

The peaceful movement in Sydney ended in violence, mass arrests and public shaming at the hands of the police, government and media.

The apology outlined what happened and why:

"Three days after the melee, Fairfax Media newspapers [now owned by Nine] including the Herald publicly outed 53 people involved in the pro-equality march, publishing their names, addresses and occupations in the newspaper. Subsequent editions published the details of more protesters, including the names of 104 people facing charges resulting from a homosexual rights march the previous weekend in Sydney.

As was common practice at the time, the press routinely published the full details of people who appeared in court, regardless of the nature of the offence with which they had been charged."

The editor back in 2016, Darren Goodsir, said: "We acknowledge and apologise for the hurt and suffering that reporting caused. It would never happen today."