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Rebel Wilson made big news last week when she came out on Instagram by posting a photo of her and her girlfriend, clothing and jewelry designer Ramona Agruma.
But a recent op-ed from Sydney Morning Herald journalist Andrew Hornery revealed Wilson's decision to come out was prompted by his threat to out her in a forthcoming article.
After several days of backlash to what many found deeply upsetting behavior by a reporter and editor who are both themselves gay—during Pride Month no less—Wilson has finally spoken out about the furor.
Wilson's brief statement came in response to another Australian journalist who tweeted her anger about the incident.
See their Twitter conversation below.
\u201c@katedoak @smh @theage Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace \ud83d\udc97\u201d— Kate Doak (@Kate Doak) 1654918889
In response to journalist Kate Doak's tweet about the outing incident, Wilson wrote:
"Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace 💗"
The uproar erupted the day after Wilson announced her relationship with Agruma when Hornery published a column describing his plans to out her, in which he seemed indignant Wilson had ruined—or "gazumped" in his parlance—his big scoop.
His column, which has since been removed from the Herald's website amid the uproar and Hornery's subsequent apology, read:
"...[I]t was with 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 LA leisure wear designer Ramona Agruma, before publishing a single word."
"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 …"
Hornery went on to further snipe at Wilson in a way that suggested he somehow felt entitled to access to her private life.
"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."
The backlash to Hornery's astonishingly tone-deaf column was immediate, especially after his editor Bevan Shields—who is also a gay man—initially denied he or Hornery had done anything wrong.
\u201cA Herald article about Rebel Wilson has promoted some attention and I\u2019ve been reading this feedback closely. In the interests of transparency I wanted to offer the Herald\u2019s view on this issue. https://t.co/Dk3qkuiovb\u201d— Bevan Shields (@Bevan Shields) 1655018228
Many were shocked outing a person is something a media outlet would turn to in 2022—as actor, comedian, Wilson's former roommate and Bridesmaids costar Matt Lucas pointed out.
\u201cComing out is often a long, scary process, with many beats. Self-realisation, telling friends & family, a first relationship. I thought the press forcing people to out themselves, regardless of whether or not they were ready, was a thing of the past. I must have been mistaken.\u201d— Matt Lucas (@Matt Lucas) 1655029528
Others were gobsmacked by Hornery's sense of entitlement and the insensitive—and oftentimes dangerous—practice of outing people.
\u201cI\u2019ve just read this @smh piece 3 times to make sure that I wasn\u2019t 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.\u201d— Megha Mohan (@Megha Mohan) 1654949849
\u201cFucking shameful by the Sydney Morning Herald. Acting like they were being generous by giving Rebel Wilson a 2-day deadline to come out before outing her themselves, then getting arsey because she called their bluff against her will. Never has @smh been a more accurate username\u201d— Chris Scullion (@Chris Scullion) 1654940582
\u201cSydney Morning Herald celebrates Pride Month by threatening to out Rebel Wilson and then getting upset when she ruined their scoop \ud83d\ude44 fucking disgusting\u201d— Strawberry Jortcake (@Strawberry Jortcake) 1654940990
Wilson's response to the matter was met with an outpouring of support.
But people were outraged she was forced into the position to "handle it with grace" in the first place.
\u201c@RebelWilson @katedoak @smh @theage You shouldn't have to though. The decision should've been yours & yours alone to make. If you wanted the information to remain private, people should've respected that, so the fact that you were deprived of a choice is horrendous & disrespectful. I'm so sorry had to endure this.\u201d— Kate Doak (@Kate Doak) 1654918889
\u201c@RebelWilson @katedoak @smh @theage No one should ever feel pressured to come out before they\u2019re ready. Your relationship or sexuality isn\u2019t anyone\u2018s business but your own, to share or not at your own will. I\u2019m so sorry you had to deal with this. You have so much support behind you. \u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f\u201d— Kate Doak (@Kate Doak) 1654918889
\u201c@RebelWilson @PatsKarvelas @katedoak @smh @theage You really handled a supremely shitty situation extremely well. \nWishing you happiness.\u201d— Kate Doak (@Kate Doak) 1654918889
\u201cI can't believe they thought it was a good thing to force someone to come out. It's so sadistic especially when you consider gay men were involved, who should have known what impact this would have.\u201d— Kate \ud83c\udf38 (@Kate \ud83c\udf38) 1655077705
\u201cIt is 2022, it is pride month, and still we have journalists forcing people out of the closet without their consent. Even celebrities have the right to privacy.\n\nAs lovely as it is for Rebel Wilson to be able to proudly be herself, this should always have been HER choice.\u201d— Chris Nelson \ud83d\udd36\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Chris Nelson \ud83d\udd36\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655030500
\u201c@RebelWilson @PatsKarvelas @katedoak @smh @theage With Grace and strength. Im so appalled that this happened, and look at you all cool, calm and collected. I genuinely hope the two of you have an abundance of love and support around you. #thisisnotjournalism\u201d— Kate Doak (@Kate Doak) 1654918889
In response to the uproar, both Hornery and Shields now say they made mistakes in how they handled the situation.
\u201cThe Herald made mistakes over Rebel Wilson, and will learn from them. Saturday\u2019s piece has been retracted and Andrew Hornery goes into detail here about what we didn\u2019t get right https://t.co/jrnBpbJ4ne\u201d— Bevan Shields (@Bevan Shields) 1655091848
Hornery has since published an apology in which he said he has "learnt some new and difficult lessons" from the incident and he "genuinely regret[s]" the difficulty he caused for Wilson.