Actress Rebel Wilson says a journalist's attempt to get her to pay $250,000 over an inaccurate tweet amounted to a 'shakedown'.
More Entertainment News Videos
- Video duration
- 00:48
Rebel Wilson's defamation case getting ...
Rebel Wilson's defamation case getting strange
Video clips from the actress' career have been making bizarre appearances throughout the court case against publisher Bauer Media.
Up Next
Mariah Carey's blunt response about James Packer
- Video duration
- 00:50
- Video duration
- 00:50
Mariah Carey's blunt response about James ...
Mariah Carey's blunt response about James Packer
An interview on Israeli TV gets awkward when Mariah Carey is gets questioned about her ex-finance James Packer.
Up Next
Am I the everyman Australian?
- Video duration
- 02:21
- Video duration
- 02:21
Am I the everyman Australian?
Am I the everyman Australian?
Michael Hing says he is the everyday relatable Australian, according to the 2016 census. From The Feed on SBS Viceland, 7.30 weeknights.
Up Next
ABC publicist dies in India
- Video duration
- 01:06
- Video duration
- 01:06
ABC publicist dies in India
ABC publicist dies in India
During a holiday in India, Chris Chamberlin, a much-loved publicist for the ABC, died of as yet unknown causes.
Up Next
Entertainment news highlights
- Video duration
- 02:06
- Video duration
- 02:06
Entertainment news highlights
Entertainment news highlights
Johnny Depp's court case gets nasty, Paul McCartney heads down-under, Darren Simpson has a heart attack, Wonder Woman's pay and Channel 31 finishes up on-air.
Up Next
Lorde's new album storms the charts
- Video duration
- 01:23
- Video duration
- 01:23
Lorde's new album storms the charts
Lorde's new album storms the charts
With her album Melodrama getting rave reviews and hitting number one in many countries, Lorde is on top of the world.
Up Next
Promo: House Rules semi-final
- Video duration
- 00:39
- Video duration
- 00:39
Promo: House Rules semi-final
Promo: House Rules semi-final
Teams compete to redecorate a treatment centre for cancer patients.
Up Next
Barnaby Joyce on Depp's dogs again
- Video duration
- 01:39
- Video duration
- 01:39
Barnaby Joyce on Depp's dogs again
Barnaby Joyce on Depp's dogs again
Johnny Depp may face perjury charges says Barnaby Joyce, as new allegations emerge that Depp brought his dogs into Australia, knowing this was illegal. Vision courtesy ABC
Rebel Wilson's defamation case getting strange
Video clips from the actress' career have been making bizarre appearances throughout the court case against publisher Bauer Media.
Wilson, 37, is suing publisher Bauer Media after several magazines in its stable, including Woman's Day, published a series of articles about her in May 2015 claiming she lied about her name, age and background.
At the same time Wilson is being sued in a separate proceeding by another journalist who works for Bauer - Elizabeth Wilson, referred to in court as "Wilson One". Wilson One works for House & Garden magazine.
On Friday, the fifth day of the trial, Wilson told the court Wilson One had demanded $250,000 in damages from her after Wilson used Twitter to mistakenly accuse Wilson One of harassing her grandmother.
In fact, it was a second Elizabeth Wilson (Wilson Two) who did the alleged harassing.
"She says she does not want an apology. She only wants $250,000. I can only describe that as a shakedown," Rebel Wilson told the court.
Rebel said Wilson One's decision to demand $250,000 via a legal letter was the "final straw" that led to her litigation against Bauer.
The allegations were the latest twist in a trial that grows stranger by the day.
Friday's hearing saw a clip played to the jury of Wilson and her Pitch Perfect co-star Adam DeVine rolling about on the floor aggressively kissing after winning MTV's Best Kiss award in 2016.
"We get so passionate that we roll about on the floor," Wilson explained from the witness box, deadpan.
Friday was the day when Bauer Media's barrister Georgina Schoff, QC, finally got her chance to cross-examine the Pitch Perfect star.
Bauer claims no one would have thought less of Wilson because of the articles the company's magazines published - and, regardless, they were largely true.
Repeated fencing between Ms Schoff and Wilson led to a morning of tense and frustrating testimony for the six-woman jury.
Wilson has claimed she developed eczema and a huge sore between her nose and lip from the stress caused by the articles, which she claims ignited a media "firestorm".
The sore, described as "exploding" and "oozing" was so huge that scenes she filmed with it had to be cut from How to Be Single, even after attempts to digitally obscure it in post-production.
On Friday, Ms Schoff took the actor to a tweet she had sent on May 24, 2015, only days after the article was published.
Schoff: "Do you agree, Ms Wilson, that when you look at yourself in that photo you've got absolutely flawless skin?
Wilson: "Thank you for the nice compliment." (General laughter in the courtroom.)
Schoff: "The point is, Ms Wilson, there is no stress sore in that photograph."
Wilson: "You can't see anything hugely obvious in that photo, no."
In another tweet sent soon after the articles were first published, this one of Wilson having fun on a boat, Ms Schoff noted, "Your arms look clear of eczema, Ms Wilson."
Wilson replied the image had a filter applied, making it hard to tell if that was the case.
On Thursday the jury was shown a clip - one of many introduced in this trial - of Wilson's appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.
On that clip she told the veteran talk-show host she lived in a "ghetto" in Sydney. In fact, Wilson was brought up in Kenthurst, Ms Schoff pointed out.
Schoff: "When you used the word 'ghetto', are you telling us that you mean that as a serious description of the suburb of Kenthurst?"
Wilson: "No, obviously that was a joke. [It] got a laugh."
Ms Schoff put it to her that "to get a laugh, sometimes you have to exaggerate the facts".
To which Wilson replied, "I don't need to lie to get laughs. Jokes are not lies, they are just jokes."
The defamation trial, before Justice John Dixon, is expected to run for another two weeks.