Ella Gilbert
Last week, Australian actress Rebel Wilson shared with her followers that she is in a new relationship with Ramona Agruma. However, it was later revealed that Wilson was threatened with “outing” by a Sydney Morning Herald columnist.
On 9th June 2022, Rebel Wilson shared an Instagram post of her and her girlfriend, Ramona Agruma. The post was tagged with #loveislove and was met with love and acceptance from friends and followers in the comments. It soon became apparent that Wilson’s post followed an allegedly unwelcomed email from Sydney Morning Herald columnist, Andrew Hornery.
Hornery contacted Wilson a few days before her Instagram post, in which he announced he had gathered enough information about her new relationship to publish an article. Wilson and her representatives were then given two days to comment on the relationship.
While the email did not explicitly say they would publish the column regardless, it was allegedly implied. Wilson decided to take control of the situation and announce her new relationship herself. Following this, Hornery released an article in response as part of his weekly Private Sydney column.
Hornery’s article, which has now been taken down, complains of being “gazumped” by Wilson. He complained of Wilson’s distaste for journalism and her decision to announce the relationship herself, especially since she “fed such a prurient interest when she had a hunky boyfriend on her arm.” He continued to write about Wilson’s lack of interaction with Sydney Morning Herald, whilst suggesting that he was being thoughtful to email first.
Reactions and Reparations
This column gathered much attention in the media and was subsequently removed by Sydney Morning Herald. Hornery and SMH have been accused of forcing Wilson to come out, threatening to out her, and later complaining when she chose to come out of her own accord.
Wilson disclosed that she had found the situation difficult and members of the LGBTQ+ community shared their sympathies and solidarity. Hornery has since released a replacement article admitting his mistakes.
Bevan Shields, the publication’s editor, released a statement clarifying that SMH did not “out” Wilson and that they would have approached her in the same way if her partner was a man. Aside from removing the original article, SMH has also published several articles discussing the ordeal. In particular, Nicky Bath discussed the difficulties surrounding coming out and addressed the problems with how the situation was handled.
Regardless of Hornery’s intentions, Wilson allegedly felt forced to come out before somebody else did it for her. Sydney Morning Herald and its writers have tried to minimise the damage of the situation, whilst still having not explicitly apologised to Wilson publicly. Questions have been raised on social media over whether the press is too invasive when it comes to finding gossip in personal affairs.
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