Rebel Wilson to give record defamation payout to charity

Rebel Wilson. AFP/GETTY IMAGES FILE PHOTO

SYDNEY—Hollywood actor Rebel Wilson has vowed to hand the largest defamation payout in Australian history to charity, as she works to get her career back on track after a “long, hard” battle.

The 37-year-old “Pitch Perfect” star successfully sued Bauer Media over magazine articles which claimed she had lied about her age and background to further her acting career.

On Wednesday, a judge awarded her Aus$4.5 million ($3.6 million) in damages against the Australian publisher — a record sum, her lawyers said.

“I’m looking forward to helping out some great Australian charities and supporting the Oz film industry with the damages I’ve received,” Wilson tweeted.

“Also looking forward to getting back to my career and entertaining everyone!”

Bauer had argued the allegations made in Woman’s Day, Australian Women’s Weekly and OK Magazine in 2015 were true and denied they had damaged Wilson’s reputation.

But Justice John Dixon said Bauer had “acted in its own corporate interests to secure improved circulation, or increased views/hits” in his ruling.

“Justice Dixon has awarded me a record sum and I’m extremely grateful for that. It is four times the Australian record,” said Sydney-born Wilson.

“To me though, this case wasn’t about the money.”

Throughout the three-week trial, an often-emotional Wilson claimed she was sacked from DreamWorks animated feature films “Trolls” and “Kung Fu Panda 3” following the articles.

She is due to star in “Pitch Perfect 3” this year, along with a remake of comedy classic “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”.