MELBOURNE: Hollywood actress Rebel Wilson spent more than A$1.3 million ($1.1 million) to win Australia’s largest defamation payout, it was revealed Thursday, and she is now chasing publisher Bauer to pay those costs as well.
The “Pitch Perfect” star was awarded A$4.5 million in damages against the group last September over articles claiming she lied about her age and background to further her career.
The allegations were made in Woman’s Day, Australian Women’s Weekly and OK Magazine in 2015, which Wilson said damaged her reputation. She won the case and vowed to give the payout to charity.
Bauer are appealing and have been backed by some of the country’s leading media organizations who argue the size of the settlement set a dangerous precedent.
A day after she tweeted “Girls just wanna have funds,” Wilson’s lawyers appeared in the Victorian Supreme Court in a battle over the fees.
It heard that experts engaged by lawyers for both Wilson and Bauer had estimated the actress would be entitled to recover between A$1.1 million and A$1.3 million, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Wilson’s barrister Renee Enbom said it effectively meant they were quibbling over A$200,000.
“It’s $200,000, that’s what we’re fighting about,” she said, according to the broadcaster, in urging the judge to make an order on costs rather than it going to a dedicated costs court, which would potentially delay the payment.
Justice John Dixon reserved his decision.
The court earlier heard that Wilson had offered to settle the case for A$200,000 before it went to trial, with most of her legal costs coming from solicitor’s fees preparing her case.
Rebel Wilson seeks legal fees after record Australia payout
Rebel Wilson seeks legal fees after record Australia payout
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
