Rebel Wilson came out via Instagram last week, sharing a beautiful couple photo and referring to her girlfriend as a ‘Disney Princess.’ Unfortunately, a celebration for the couple and the LGBTQ+ community quickly turned into controversy after an Australian newspaper released an article complaining that the actress decided to come out herself instead of through their publication.

The Sydney Morning Herald columnist, Andrew Hornery, wrote an email to Wilson’s representatives with “an abundance of caution and respect” on Thursday morning asking for a comment on her relationship with Ramona Agruma “before publishing a single word”.

Hornery did not receive a response from Wilson after making it clear in his email that there was a deadline of two days. After learning the actress decided to come out via Instagram, the columnist wrote a piece on Saturday explaining his disappointment.

“Big mistake. Wilson opted to gazump the story, posting about her new ‘Disney Princess’ on Instagram early Friday morning, the same platform she had previously used to brag about her handsome ex-boyfriend, wealthy American beer baron Jacob Busch,” he wrote. 

This story received backlash all over social media with fans feeling that Rebel Wilson was ‘forcefully outed’ by the media outlet.

i am so beyond disgusted at this. turns out rebel wilson only came out to avoid being forcefully outed and now that newspaper is pissed at her for ruining their scoop?? so they wrote this mess?? i am so angry and so sorry for rebel, no one deserves this. pic.twitter.com/PTnTqzr9VI

— theresa ? (@sapphoslibrary) June 11, 2022

The original story written by Andrew Hornery was removed and replaced with an article sharing his mistakes and how he will learn from them. Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, Bevan Shields, also released ‘A note on Rebel Wilson,‘ to share the organisation’s perspective on the situation.

“Our weekly Private Sydney celebrity column last week asked Wilson if she wished to comment about her new partner. We would have asked the same questions had Wilson’s new partner been a man,” Shields added. “To say that the Herald “outed” Wilson is wrong.”

Wilson addressed the article in a Twitter thread with an Australian LGBTQ+ journalist, Kate Doak. She shared that it was a difficult situation, but wanted to ‘handle it with grace.’

Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace ?

— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 12, 2022

GCN covered the original story on Friday, sharing the adorable couple photo and positive reactions from Wilson’s fans.