Rebel Wilson is taking the high road after an Australian newspaper threatened to publicize her relationship with Ramona Agruma without her consent.
The “Isn’t It Romantic” star responded Sunday to a journalist who criticized the Sydney Morning Herald for attempting to out Wilson, who hadn’t previously dated a woman publicly. On Thursday, Wilson beat the publication to the punch by confirming that she is dating Agruma via Instagram.
In a tweet, Kate Doak, a reporter for the Australian television news program 10 News First, slammed the Sydney Morning Herald for giving Wilson “a heads up 2 days in advance that they were going to ‘out’ her” and lamented the fact that “openly gay men at the Sydney Morning Herald were involved in this.”
Responding to Doak’s criticism, Wilson tweeted, “Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace.”
The “Pitch Perfect” actor’s remarks come shortly after the Sydney Morning Herald published an opinion piece Saturday bashing her for coming out on her own terms despite its efforts to expose her. The media outlet claimed to exercise “an abundance of caution and respect” by emailing Wilson’s team and giving the performer “two days to comment on her new relationship” with Agruma before running a story on the couple.
“Big mistake,” wrote Sydney Morning Herald columnist Andrew Hornery. “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.
“She even had her ‘bestie,’ the actor Hugh Sheridan, doing radio interviews on breakfast FM on Friday morning, during which he gloated about introducing the women to each other six months ago. Apparently, they had hit it off pretty much immediately but had kept the relationship under wraps.”
The Sydney Morning Herald’s piece instantly backfired on social media, where Doak and many others admonished the periodical for forcing Wilson to go public with her relationship. On Twitter, supporters of the “Senior Year” producer called the Sydney Morning Herald’s actions “shameful,” “repugnant” and “vile.”
“June is a good time to remember that we, the media, have to do better when handling news about the LGBTQ+ community,” tweeted sports journalist Ines Braga Sampaio.
“Bullying isn’t journalism. Outing someone will never be journalism. What the Sydney Morning Herald did to Rebel Wilson is bullying.”
In a statement published Sunday, Sydney Morning Herald editor Bevan Shields insisted that “to say that the Herald ‘outed’ Wilson is wrong” and argued that the paper “simply asked questions and as standard practice included a deadline for a response.”
Thursday on Instagram, Wilson posted a photo with her girlfriend, Agruma, a Los Angeles-based fashion and jewelry designer known for her casual Lemon Ve Limon clothing line.
“I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess,” Wilson captioned the image. “#loveislove.”
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