Rebel Wilson has won her high-profile defamation trial against Bauer Media
“A huge media organisation, Bauer Media Group, maliciously took me down in May 2015, with a series of grubby and completely false articles. Far too often I feel the tabloid magazines and the journalists who work for them don't abide by professional ethics. Far too often I feel their conduct can only be described as disgusting and as disgraceful. I am glad, very glad, that the jury has agreed with me. And by the unanimous overwhelming verdict, they have sent a very very clear message. I REALLY love my job, as an actress and as an entertainer, and now I just look forward to rebuilding my career, now that the record is being set straight. I’d really like to thank my family and friends, my legal team, over here, and everyone who has supported me, through the ordeal. I so appreciate the support. It’s been very very tough, to fight this huge company, but I have done it, and I am grateful it is all over. So thank you so much to everybody.” ~ Rebel Wilson.
Source from Sky News Australia.
Background:
Rebel Wilson has won her high-profile defamation trial against Bauer Media, which published articles saying she lied about her real name, age and childhood.
The jury of six women deliberated for two days over their verdict, in which they were asked to consider 40 questions and eight magazine articles published in Woman's Day, Australian Women's Weekly, NW and OK magazine.
The jury found all eight articles defamed Wilson.
The identity of the source, who was paid around £1,200, was not revealed to the court, but Wilson told the jury she believed it was a former classmate who was jealous of her success. Bauer Media denied the articles had damaged Wilson's reputation and argued they were based in fact.
Celebrities vs Bauer Media past legal cases:
Bauer Media previous tussle with Tom Cruise. Cruise initially sued Bauer Media Group for $50 million back in October 2012 after one of its magazines, Life & Style, claimed the had "abandoned" Suri, his then 7-year-old daughter with ex-wife Katie Holmes.The publishing group released this statement after the Hollywood heavyhitter dropped the lawsuit: “Tom Cruise’s lawsuit against Bauer Publishing, In Touch and Life & Style magazines has been settled. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed and remain confidential. Bauer Publishing, as well as In Touch and Life & Style magazines, never intended to communicate that Tom Cruise had cut off all ties and abandoned his daughter, Suri, and regret if anyone drew that inference from anything they published.”
Bauer Media vs Blake Shelton. The country singer accepted a settlement in his lawsuit against a tabloid magazine.The Oklahoma-born superstar sued In Touch in October 2015 over its cover story, "REHAB For Blake." The magazine's publisher has settled, after failing to get a judge to throw out the case. Shelton originally asked for $2 million in actual damages, plus punitive damages, from Bauer Publishing Co. and related companies involved with the weekly magazine.The story came out in September 2015. It said he had hit rock bottom — that his alcohol consumption had skyrocketed after his split from wife Miranda Lambert. The story said he had been seen in August 2015, a month after the divorce, hooking up with strangers, partying with strippers and drinking shots of tequila nonstop in Cancun, Mexico.
"I think that Blake Shelton accomplished his purpose,"
Los Angeles attorney Larry Stein said.
"It is an economic proposition for these publications. Unless people take them to task, they will continue to publish information without adequate research and basis,"
the attorney said.
"At some point, you just have to make the decision that you're just not going to take it any longer. ... That's what finally happened with Blake."
“When it comes to feuds, celebrities versus tabloids is all-too-common - stars routinely talk about how they're disgusted by tabloid rumours. Of course, it's all a delicate balancing act, because those same famous folks will often rely on celebrity weeklies to boost their profile.
So there's often an interesting dynamic at play, where the celebrities pretend not to acknowledge that tabloid coverage fuels their fame and, as a result, don't make it a common practice to call out a specific publication unless it's a truly egregious claim. Sometimes they'll allude to a rumour that they want to smack down (Taylor Swift: "As my 25th birthday present from the media, I'd like for you to stop accusing all my friends of dating me."), but it's rare to see a celebrity and a tabloid go head to head.
So why is Garner taking the unusual step of speaking up? Usually when a celebrity goes after a specific tabloid, it's because they're suing them (like Blake Shelton did, when In Touch Weekly said he had a drinking problem) or genuinely furious (like George Clooney, when the Daily Mail made some dangerous claims about his fiancee).
Source:
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/jennifer-garner-breaks-a-celebrity-taboo-by-calling-out-people-magazine-20170604-gwkcgv.html
#Questions to ponder:
How many celebrities bothered to take legal actions or use their own social media to address these tabloids? How many succeeded? What fueled these tabloids’ success to empower them to create sources, lies and stories? They are actors and entertainers, their WORK are supposed to entertain you not their private lives, reputation and brand. Sad to say many people who read the tabloids, or news like celebrities suing tabloids above still find the entertainment value in itself. They are already commoditized for our entertainment purpose.
