Celebrities in Australia have blasted a newspaper for attempting to 'out' Rebel Wilson before she went public with her new girlfriend Ramona Agruma on Friday. Sydney Morning Herald columnist Andrew Hornery published a column on Saturday criticizing Rebel's decision to 'gazump' his scoop, arguing he had learned about the relationship and was going to publish a story about it. Magda Szubanski hit back at Hornery, tweeting: "Your paper has no right to know anything about anyone's private life". "I am not claiming to speak for Rebel Wilson, but for LGBTQIA+ people, the consequences of what is nothing more than a hissy fit over who gets to publish gossip can be devastating". Meshel Laurie also wrote on Instagram: "This goes without saying, but we should all say it anyway, I think". We need to make it very clear to @rebelwilson and @andrewhornery that we are horrified and appalled by his actions. Rebel Wilson has broken her silence on the allegation that a newspaper tried to "out" her before she went public with her latest relationship on social media last week. In a post on Instagram on Friday (June 10), the 42-year-old actor and comedian shared a photo of herself and her partner Ramona Agruma. Pitch Perfect star said: "I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince, but maybe what I needed was a Disney Princess." She included #loveislove. Wilson was approached by a newspaper in Australia about running a story about the couple, which led to the post. Hornery admitted that he gave Wilson less than two days to respond - or a story would run. Critics have criticized the newspaper for what they describe as an attempt to "out" Wilson, with people sharing their thoughts on Twitter and other social media platforms. Kate Doak tweeted: "Apparently it wasn't [Wilson's] choice to come out. The @smh/@theage has admitted to giving her a heads-up 2 days in advance that they were going to "out" her. What's worse, openly gay men at the Sydney Morning Herald were involved." Wilson responded yesterday: "Thanks for your comments, it was a very difficult situation, but I tried to handle it with grace." The Sydney Morning Herald has since removed an opinion piece that provided background to Rebel's 'coming out' post, but columnist Hornery wrote another piece responding to the backlash. He said he had "learned some new and difficult lessons" in the wake of the backlash, saying he "sincerely regrets" that Wilson has found the experience difficult.
Hornery said the couple had been photographed together on several occasions, including at an LGBTQ+ event, so he thought Wilson might be open to discussing it. "But we mishandled steps in our approach," he said.
Hornery revealed that he contacted Wilson's representatives via email last Thursday morning, giving them until the following afternoon to respond. Despite not receiving a response from her representatives, Rebel revealed the relationship herself on social media that Friday morning. "My email was never intended to be a threat, but to make it clear I was sufficiently confident with my information and to start a conversation."
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