THE EDITOR of the Sydney Morning Herald has denied that the paper outed Australian actress Rebel Wilson.
Bevan Shields defended the paper after it was widely criticised for giving Wilson two days to comment on her relationship with Ramona Agruma.
A Twitter thread by BBC journalist Megha Mohan criticising the paper for its handling of the matter and for 'complaining that Rebel Wilson "gazumped" their threat' has received almost 150,000 likes.
Wilson herself has since said that she found herself in 'a very hard situation'.
'Disney Princess'
Bridesmaids actress Wilson announced her relationship with leisurewear designer Agruma on Instagram on Friday, saying she had found her 'Disney Princess'.
The social media post was covered by the Press, including the Sydney Morning Herald's Andrew Hornery in the Private Sydney column.
The piece said Wilson had ignored the column's request for a comment on the relationship earlier in the week before announcing the news 'just hours after being sent questions on Thursday morning'.
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However, it was a follow-up article by Hornery in which he seemed annoyed at Wilson's decision to 'gazump' the paper that drew people's ire.
Hornery said the Herald emailed Wilson's representatives with 'an abundance of caution and respect… giving her two days to comment on her new relationship with LA leisure wear designer Ramona Agruma, before publishing a single word'.
He added: "Big mistake. 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."
He said Wilson's decision 'to ignore our discreet, genuine and honest queries was, in our view, underwhelming'.
'Disney Princess'
The article prompted criticism on social media, including from Mohan, who said she had to read the piece three times to process it.
"Still reeling from the fact that a publication gave someone a deadline to out them in 2022," she tweeted.
"Maybe I'm incredibly naive but this is what I imagined 90s gutter press was like and most journalists had huge standards change since then…"
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. pic.twitter.com/qiPZkYFmka
— Megha Mohan (@meghamohan) June 11, 2022
She added: "Sydney Morning Herald really out there complaining that Rebel Wilson 'gazumped' their threat of outing her on their terms by posting about her own life on her own terms!
"What a mindblowing piece to write!"
Others joined in the criticism, with journalist Chris Scullion calling the paper 'shameful' and LBC's Shelagh Fogarty describing Hornery's piece as 'weasel words'.
Tyson Shine, producer at Australia's News Breakfast, said he was 'ashamed of my industry this weekend' while Television New Zealand's Australia correspondent Andrew Macfarlane said the Herald had 'shown no understanding of the pressures and stress of coming out'.
'Wilson made the decision'
However, Herald editor Bevan has defended the paper, claiming he had not decided on what would be published had Wilson responded to their questions and that it was her decision to announce the relationship.
"We would have asked the same questions had Wilson's new partner been a man," he wrote.
"To say that the Herald 'outed' Wilson is wrong.
"Like other mastheads do every day, we simply asked questions and as standard practice included a deadline for a response.
A Herald article about Rebel Wilson has promoted some attention and I’ve been reading this feedback closely. In the interests of transparency I wanted to offer the Herald’s view on this issue. https://t.co/Dk3qkuiovb
— Bevan Shields (@BevanShields) June 12, 2022
"I had made no decision about whether or what to publish, and the Herald's decision about what to do would have been informed by any response Wilson supplied.
"Wilson made the decision to publicly disclose her new partner — who had been a feature of her social media accounts for months."
Wilson has since commented on the story via Twitter.
Responding to a tweet from Australian journalist Kate Doak critcising the Herald, Wilson wrote: "Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace."
Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace 💗
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 12, 2022
