Australian comedian Rebel Wilson wins $3.7 million as compensation for damages due to defamation

Australian comedian Rebel Wilson won A$4.6 million ($3.7 million) in damages. This was after a global magazine publisher defamed her in a string of articles which resulted in the comedian losing out on Hollywood movie roles.

The Supreme Court of Victoria instructed Bauer Media, the Europe-based parent company of the magazine, to pay Wilson, A$650,000 in general damages, including aggravated damages, plus A$3,917,472 in special damages, the highest ever for a libel case in Australia.

The Sydney born Wilson is best known for her roles in the Pitch Perfect films.

"The damage suffered by Miss Wilson warrants a substantial damages award to vindicate her and nail the lie," Justice John Dixon said, reading out a summary of his judgement.

He added that aggravated penalties were prevalent due to Bauer Media's "unprecedented" global reach and its decision to run a series of articles which claimed Wilson had lied about her age, real name and few childhood events, even though the media house had the knowledge that the allegations were false.

"The allegations were based on information from a source who required payment and anonymity and whom the editor considered had an axe to grind," Dixon said.

The Justice also said Bauer Media had "kept the story alive for days" for its own gains, knowing the claims in the Woman's Day magazine would be picked up by other entertainment media houses worldwide. The entire episode led to Wilson missing out on a number of film roles.

The compensation was based on the judge's assessment that the celebrity lost out on at least three lead or co-lead roles, each worth at least A$6.2 million ($5 million), ascribing 20 per cent of the lost earnings to Bauer Media's articles.

Wilson expressed her gratefulness on social media as she received the judgement in the middle of the night in Britain.

"Today was the end of a long and hard court battle against Bauer Media who viciously tried to take me down with a series of false articles," she said.

"To me though, this case wasn't about the money," she said. adding she plans to give away the money to help some Australian charities and the Australian film industry.

Bauer Media said in a statement on its website it was considering the judgement.

The previous record for damages in a defamation case in Australia was A$2.3 million, two legal experts said.

"Most observers of the case are surprised at the quantum of the judgement, and I would expect that it would be appealed," said Peter Bartlett, a partner at law firm Minter Ellison.