Rebel Wilson slams controversial SMH column: 'Grubby behaviour'

Rebel Wilson has spoken out following the controversial Sydney Morning Herald column that attempted to out her relationship with girlfriend Ramona Agruma before she was ready to come out publicly.

The 42-year-old actress took to Instagram in June to announce she was dating the fashion designer, with the SMH revealing they knew about the relationship and had given Rebel two days to comment on the relationship before they went to print.

Readers were left shocked when journalist Andrew Hornery wrote a column complaining about Rebel’s choice to come out, saying the star ‘gazumped’ the publication by breaking the news before they could.

In his tone-deaf piece, the writer proceeded to be bitter that the actress decided to come out on her own terms, saying that giving her a heads-up was a “big mistake”.

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There was a huge backlash worldwide, with many people disappointed by the SMH’s actions.

Journalist Kate Doak took to Twitter to slam the paper, "So apparently it wasn’t Rebel Wilson’s choice to come out. The SMH & The Age have admitted to giving her a heads up 2 days in advance that they were going to 'out' her. What’s worse, openly gay men at the Sydney Morning Herald were involved in this."

Rebel thanked Kate at the time by writing, "Thank you for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace."

The actress announced the relationship by sharing a photo of herself and Ramona, with the caption reading, "I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess #loveislove."

Now, Rebel has slammed the SMH for forcing her to come out or be outed by them, telling The Australian, "I just thought it was kind of grubby behaviour."

"Basically, with the situation where a journalist is threatening to out you, you’ve got to hurry, and some people we didn’t get a chance to tell before it came out publicly. And that’s not ideal."

She added that while being in a same-sex relationship isn't "that big of a deal", the couple hadn't had the chance to speak to their families about the relationship.

"There are levels to telling ­people," she said. "You tell your close family and your friends and not everybody. Across our two families, not everybody is as ­accepting as what you’d hoped for, and we were trying to be respectful to those people and tell them in our own way."

Rebel also shared that it had been hard on Ramona, who isn't used to the media attention.

Rebel teases fans with new project

It comes after the Pitch Perfect star recently hinted to her followers that she's working on a book.

The actress took to her Instagram Stories last month asking fans, "Okay, so if I was writing a book — what stories would you guys be interested in?"

Rebel has been open about her 'year of health', after shedding in 35kg in 2020 by prioritising exercise. It came as no surprise that multiple people wanted the star to share her weight loss secrets.

"Your weight loss journey," one fan requested, with another adding: "A motivational book on your weight loss journey and growth! You’re amazing, Rebel!"

Rebel said that writing a book about her weight loss journey "sounded good", and added, "Yes okay, I hear you."

One fan asked Rebel to consider writing about her love story with Ramona. The star considered the idea, but added that she would have "to let Ramona read the chapters before anyone else".

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