Should gay celebrities be outed?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: On June 13, 2022, 10's The Project televised a discussion of the Rebel Wilson 'outing' story.What they said...
'Your paper has no God-given right to know anything about the private life of anyone'
Gay actor Magda Szubanski complaining to the editor of The Sydney Morning Herald about the pressure his paper is alleged to have applied to Rebel Wilson
'Everyone knew all at once [that I am gay]...There was no turning back and it was a relief''
Gay actor Portia de Rossi commenting on her forced coming out in 2005
The issue at a glance
On June 10, 2022, actor Rebel Wilson announced on Instagram that she was in a gay relationship with fashion designer Ramona Agruma.
The announcement prompted congratulations from many on Instagram and other social media sites.
However, the nature of public comment changed when, on June 11, The Sydney Morning Herald published a piece by its social columnist Andrew Hornery in which he complained that Wilson had 'gazumped' a column he had been working on in which he intended to make Wilson's new relationship public. He stated that he had contacted Wilson giving her two days in which to respond. Instead of contacting him, Wilson announced the relationship herself.
Hornery's piece provoked widespread criticism on social media and in other newspapers. The columnist and his paper were condemned for threatening to 'out' Wilson. That is, they were accused of threatening they would make Wilson's gay relationship known without her consent and possibly against her wishes.
The Sydney Morning Herald took Hornery's original column down and it was replaced with an apology from the columnist. Hornery stated that he regretted any distress he had caused Wilson and her partner and denied that his intention had been to out them.
The episode has led to widespread debate around the ethics of outing.