Culture

Australian newspaper admits it planned to out Rebel Wilson

By Jordan Robledo

11th June 2022

Instagram: Rebel Wilson
Instagram: Rebel Wilson

An Australian newspaper planned to out Rebel Wilson before her landmark coming out post on Instagram. 

On 9 June, the Australian actress and comedian confirmed her romance with Lemon Ve Limon founder Ramona Agruma.

“I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of them both.

Wilson, who is yet to define her sexuality, concluded her caption with love heart and rainbow emojis, as well as the hashtag, “#loveislove”.

Although the Bridesmaids actress was met with universal support from her fans and industry peers, her joyous coming-out moment stemmed from almost being outed by a local newspaper. 

On 11 June, The Sydney Morning Herald published an opinion piece from private Sydney columnist Andrew Hornery in which he revealed that the newspaper had planned to run a story on Wilson’s relationship with Agruma. 

However, the planned piece was due to effectively “out” the Senior Year actress before she could address the relationship on her own terms. 

“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,” he wrote. 

“So it was 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 another woman, LA leisure wear designer Romona Agruma, before publishing a single word.”

Hornery went on to say that warning Wilson of the story was a “big mistake” and that her coming-out post “gazumped the story.” 

 

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A post shared by Rebel Wilson (@rebelwilson)

“Her choice to ignore our discreet, genuine and honest queries was, in our view, underwhelming,” he said. 

Shortly after the article went live, Hornery and The Sydney Morning Herald received immense backlash. 

One Twitter user wrote: “I am so beyond disgusted at this. Turns out Rebel Wilson only came out to avoid being forcefully outed and now that newspaper is pissed at her for ruining their scoop?? So they wrote this mess?? I am so angry and so sorry for Rebel, no one deserves this.”

Another user tweeted: “Imagine writing a whole op-ed that’s essentially a tantrum because Rebel Wilson outed herself on her terms before they had a chance to out her themselves.” 

Even journalists have called out Hornery and the newspaper for their recent opinion piece. 

BBC journalist Megha Mohan tweeted: “I’ve just read this @smh piece 3 times to make sure that I wasn’t misreading. The publication messaged Rebel Wilson saying they would out her in 2 days – and is now complaining that she chose to announce her relationship with a woman herself. Quite astonishing.” 

10 News First journalist Kate Doak added: “Also as a journalist who is openly gay, transitioned from male to female and was outed in my early 20’s, I’m heartbroken to see this still happening today. LGBTIQ+ people go through a lot, and regardless of whether they’re @RebelWilson, a kid or 80, shouldn’t have to face this.”