The Hollywood star revealed on Friday that he was in a relationship with the American fashion designer Ramona Agruma, something that caused an outburst of good wishes. But the controversy erupted after the Herald said on Saturday that it contacted her on Thursday, wanting to make history. Sign up to receive top stories from Guardian Australia every morning The Herald gave Wilson two days to respond. After revealing her own story, Andrew Hornery columnist complained that the newspaper was “clogged” and said it was a “big mistake” to contact Wilson in advance. In a note to readers on Monday, Herald’s publisher Bevan Shields said the paper did not publish Wilson, but “simply asked questions and as a standard practice included a deadline for answers.” ABC radio presenter Rafael Epstein called it “dishonest.” “Oh, we ask the questions…” What exactly do you think he would think when you asked the questions? Disingenuous Low rent behavior How would these journalists and editors feel if these questions about their privacy were asked? pic.twitter.com/9MivpB1E1L – Raf Epstein (@Raf_Epstein) June 12, 2022 LGBTIQ + Health Australia CEO Nicky Bath said there was a process people went through to reveal their sexuality and it was a very personal and vulnerable moment. “These are personal decisions,” he said. “Who do you reveal to first, how do you do it and when do you do it. “When people go out, the important thing is that they have made the decision to do so and have the right support around them to make a significant part of their lives public. “Putting pressure on you to go out is really useless and it will affect [people’s] mental health.” On Friday morning, Wilson posted on Instagram, with the hashtag #loveislove, that she thought she was “looking for a Disney prince”. “But maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney princess,” she wrote. On Saturday, Hornery wrote that the newspaper emailed Wilson’s representatives Thursday morning, “giving her two days to comment on her new relationship with LA leisure designer Ramona Agruma.” “A big mistake,” Horneri wrote. “Wilson chose to capture history.” She wrote that “who goes out on a date is his job”, but that Wilson “fortunately fueled so much interest when she had a fat friend in her hand”. Wilson would be unlikely to have experienced homophobia, he wrote, and “sexual orientation is no longer something to be hidden.” On Sunday, Wilson said on Twitter that it was a “very difficult situation” that she was trying to handle gracefully. Thanks for your feedback, it was a very difficult situation, but I was trying to handle it with grace 💗 – Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 12, 2022 Shields wrote that the newspaper would ask the same question if Wilson’s new partner was a man. Shields said he had not made a decision on whether or not to publish, but that any decision would have been informed by any response from Wilson. “This was not typical news,” he wrote. “We wish Wilson and Agruma well.” Bath said that while society may think “everything is fine like rain” for LGBTI people, the reality was that “homophobia is alive and well in Australia”. “In 2022, being in this situation is really frustrating when we know that people with LGBTIQ + have increased rates of mental health [issues],” he said. He said it should be a happy time for people to talk about who they are and that the process for Wilson had been “tarnished” by the Herald. He pointed out the Australian Press Council’s standards of practice, which address the need for respect and consent in the discussion of a person’s sexual identity or gender identity. Bevan Your document does not have a God-given right to know anything about anyone’s privacy. I do not claim to speak on behalf of Rebel Wilson. results https://t.co/mzrpHTsoU5 – Magda Szubanski AO (@MagdaSzubanski) June 13, 2022 Shields and the Herald have been contacted for further comment.
