Rebel Wilson addresses Sydney Morning Herald's 'grubby' behavior

Rebel Wilson is speaking out after the Sydney Morning Herald acknowledged that it breached the principles of the Australian Press Council in an article regarding her same-sex relationship.

After Wilson revealed her relationship with her girlfriend Ramona Agruma in June 2022, Andrew Hornery, a columnist for the outlet, published an article about the actor’s relationship.

In the original story, which has since been taken down, Hornery said that the outlet reached out to Wilson to give her an opportunity to comment on her relationship prior to publishing an article about the couple before they could take their relationship public themselves.

On Saturday, Oct. 29, the Australian Press Council deemed in a ruling on its website that the Sydney Morning Herald breached two of its general principles, including avoiding intruding into a person’s “reasonable expectations of privacy” unless it’s in the interest of the public and avoiding causing “offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety” unless it’s in the interest of the public.

In an Instagram post, Wilson posed with Agruma at a dining table filled with sweet treats. While the two smiled in the photo, the caption took a more serious note as she addressed the actions taken by the Australian Press Council.

“Just seeing the news that the Australian Press Council has condemned the Sydney Morning Herald and their journalists for their recent grubby behaviour in trying to out my same-sex relationship,” she wrote in a caption on Instagram. “And while I didn’t personally ask for any action to be taken I am glad that this has been officially recorded and recognized. Their actions did cause Ramona and I a lot of distress and while we’ve remained classy, there are still pains from having to rush this news publicly which we are dealing with.”

Wilson concluded her caption with a note for the future, writing, “We move on, focusing on all the absolutely amazing new things in our life though! Sending love to everyone.”

In the original story, Hornery had written in part, “So, it was 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 another woman, LA leisure wear designer Ramona Agruma, before publishing a single word.”

Hornery said in the story that it was a “big mistake” to message Wilson ahead of publishing the story because she “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.”

At the time, Wilson spoke out about the story in a brief message on social media, writing on Twitter, “Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace.”

In the ruling, the council noted that the outlet had “intruded on her reasonable expectations of privacy” and that “the article’s reference to ‘outing’ same-sex celebrity couples, its reference to giving Ms Wilson two days to respond to information concerning her relationship, and its forthright criticism of her for not responding, was likely to cause substantial offence and distress.”

Since announcing her relationship on social media, Wilson has shared a few glimpses into her relationship with Agruma.

In recent weeks, Wilson shared an adorable snap from a date night at a mutual friend’s birthday celebration. In a photo shared on Wilson’s Instagram, the couple posed cheek-to-cheek outside as they both beamed at the camera.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com