WEBVTT - Inside Rebel Wilson’s big defamation win over young actress

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<v Speaker 1>Today's Biggest News from the Australian Unclair Harvey with the

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<v Speaker 1>Front's afternoon Headlines. Actress Rebel Wilson has successfully defended herself

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<v Speaker 1>in a defamation case brought by younger actor Charlotte McKinnes,

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<v Speaker 1>who starred in Wilson's twenty twenty four movie musical The

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<v Speaker 1>deb McInnis claimed Wilson defamed her in a series of

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<v Speaker 1>social media posts in which mcinness claimed Wilson implied she

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<v Speaker 1>was a liar and a sellout, as well as breaching

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<v Speaker 1>her confidence. Wilson denied the claim, saying the posts were

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<v Speaker 1>not defametry and that even if they were, they were

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<v Speaker 1>substantially true. The dispute stems from an incident on five

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<v Speaker 1>September twenty twenty three, when mcinness and demand a Ghost,

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<v Speaker 1>a producer of the movie, went for a swim at

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<v Speaker 1>Bondi Beach in the cold spring surf and then ended

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<v Speaker 1>up trying to warm themselves in a bathtub at Ghosts

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<v Speaker 1>nearby apartment. Ghost claimed she suffered an allergic reaction to

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<v Speaker 1>the cold water. The judge found mcinness told Wilson the

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<v Speaker 1>next day about the episode, and she accepted Wilson's claim

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<v Speaker 1>that mckinness said it had made her uncomfortable. Mckinness denied

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<v Speaker 1>ever telling Wilson about the incident, Just as Elizabeth Raper

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<v Speaker 1>said she found just one of the nineteen defamatory imputations

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<v Speaker 1>claimed by mckinness had actually been made in Wilson's posts.

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<v Speaker 1>That was Wilson's suggestion. Mckinness later changed her story about

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<v Speaker 1>feeling uncomfortable about the bath with ghost. The judge said, however,

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<v Speaker 1>the post was not defametry. She said it had not

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<v Speaker 1>seriously harmed mckinness's reputation and that it was substantially true.

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<v Speaker 1>That is, the judge accepted that mckinness did tell Wilson

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<v Speaker 1>she was uncomfortable. In her judgment, Raper found mckinness did

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<v Speaker 1>find the bathtub incident bizarre and that it did make

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<v Speaker 1>her uncomfortable. She said, while she was not required to

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<v Speaker 1>make any finding about whether the conduct was sexualized in

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<v Speaker 1>any way, she believed mcinness said something to Wilson about it.

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<v Speaker 1>Raper said it was her view that mckinness changed her

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<v Speaker 1>story at least in part because she was concerned she

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<v Speaker 1>was losing control of the situation and sought to contain

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<v Speaker 1>it and to walk back her complaint. Raper said both

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<v Speaker 1>mcinness and Ghost were unreliable witnesses. She described Ghost as

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<v Speaker 1>an immensely powerful producer who used her power and could

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<v Speaker 1>be aggressive and intimidating. She said Ghost had lied about

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<v Speaker 1>going for a second swim with mcinness just days after

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<v Speaker 1>the first episode. The judge was also critical of mcinness,

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<v Speaker 1>saying the actress had a self assured demeanor and lacked

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<v Speaker 1>insight as to her place in the world. She said

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<v Speaker 1>mckinness's evidence was unsatisfactory and that mckinness gave an air

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<v Speaker 1>of nonchalant casualness in the witness box when presented with

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<v Speaker 1>inconsistencies in her account. The judge said Wilson maintained her

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<v Speaker 1>composure in the witness box and never raised her voice.

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<v Speaker 1>She said, and she accepted Wilson's account of the event

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<v Speaker 1>even though quote she had a propensity to exaggerate, to

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<v Speaker 1>be suspicious, and to draw longbows from evidence. Raper ordered

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<v Speaker 1>that the application be dismissed and that McKinnon's pay Wilson's costs,

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<v Speaker 1>which are likely to stretch into hundreds of thousands or

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<v Speaker 1>millions of dollars. It's the second big win for Wilson

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<v Speaker 1>in Australian courts. In twenty seventeen, she was awarded four

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<v Speaker 1>point seven million dollars by the Victorian Supreme Court after

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<v Speaker 1>suing the publisher of magazine Woman's Day, although this sum

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<v Speaker 1>was knocked down on appeal to six hundred thousand. You

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<v Speaker 1>can check out that story live right now at the

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<v Speaker 1>Australian dot com dot au. Plus come back to the

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<v Speaker 1>front first thing in the morning for something really fun.

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<v Speaker 1>Our senior wine writer Nick Ryan has tasted and reviewed

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<v Speaker 1>the latest release of Australia's most famous and valuable red wine,

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<v Speaker 1>Penfold's Grange, and we talk about the most expense and

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<v Speaker 1>Thursday morning,