Rebel Wilson Came Out Because an Australian Newspaper Threatened to Do It for Her
Rebel Wilson’s personal timeline of when to come out as gay was taken from her: A Sydney Morning Herald journalist admitted in a recent article that he and the paper had, out of an “abundance of caution and respect,” given her two days to comment on her new relationship with Los Angeles clothing designer Ramona Agruma.
Two days ago, the “Pitch Perfect” actress shared a photo of herself and Agruma to Instagram, writing, “I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince … but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess.”
The Herald’s article continues in a grating tone, asserting that Wilson “opted to gazump the story” instead of letting the outlet seemingly scoop her on her sexuality, a violation that the National LGTBQ Task Force says can be “deadly.”
The piece, from senior journalist Andrew Hornery, who has now turned on protected tweets, continues, “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.”
Later on, Hornery insinuates that the article outing Wilson would not have been such a big deal given that “sexual orientation is no longer something to be hidden, even in Hollywood,” a woeful misunderstanding on how anti queer views permeate society and are embedded into systems worldwide.
Naturally, the post drew widespread backlash online, with many balking at the fact that prominent outlet would engage in such “f—ing disgusting” behavior. “You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Threatening to out someone and then being cross that they chose to do it themselves? Despicable,” writer Michael Chakraverty said. “This is beyond unacceptable. You are despicable, gutter journalists.”