Back in 2015, a story began to spread that Rebel Wilson had lied about her age, name, and past in order to make herself into a more marketable Hollywood star. It became a rather big controversy in Australia, to the point where news outlets actually went to the trouble of obtaining official government documents that proved she really is several years older than she had been claiming. Wilson joked about all of this on Twitter at the time, but she later sued an Australian magazine publisher for defamation after it accused her of being a serial liar and promoted stories about her fabricating other aspects of her life story beyond her age—which, to be clear, she did lie about. Now, The Guardian is reporting that she has successfully won that legal battle.
The damages that Wilson will receive in this victory have not been determined, but she released a statement saying that it was more important for her to get the truth out than it was to make any money. Wilson says the stories accusing her of being a serial liar impacted her career, adding that “doors that used to be open were shut,” and that she “had to beg” in order to get back into movies because of all the bad press. She even got fired from a big role in Kung Fu Panda 3, with DreamWorks apparently telling her to her face that she was “too divisive” for the film.
The Guardian story also notes that Wilson has a law degree from the University Of New South Wales, so maybe the next person who wants to try something like this should target a celebrity who doesn’t have a legal background.