Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush
has been awarded $850,000 in initial damages after winning his defamation case
against Nationwide News over two articles published by The Daily Telegraph in
2017.
Key points:
·
Justice Wigney found The Daily Telegraph failed to prove
imputations published in two articles involving Mr Rush
·
He said the stories were "recklessly irresponsible pieces
of sensationalist journalism of the very worst kind"
·
Speaking outside court, Mr Rush said there were "no
winners" in the case
In
a damning judgement in the Federal Court, Justice Michael Wigney said
Nationwide News and journalist Jonathan Moran failed to prove the imputations
published in two articles in late 2017 were true.
Justice
Wigney said in publishing unsubstantiated stories alleging Mr Rush behaved
inappropriately towards a female co-star during a 2015-16 production of King
Lear, the newspaper produced "recklessly irresponsible pieces of
sensationalist journalism of the very worst kind".
He
said he would determine an amount of damages related to lost income for Mr Rush
— on top of the $850,000 awarded today — at a later date.
Court documents lodged during the trial revealed Mr
Rush was seeking more than $25 million in damages.
In his
judgement on Thursday, Justice Wigney found the actor at the centre of the
accusations against Mr Rush, Eryn Jean Norvill, was an unreliable
witness, prone to "exaggeration and embellishment".
He
said Ms Norvill's evidence was not credible or reliable and contradicted by
other members of the cast during the King Lear production, when the incidents
reported by The Daily Telegraph were alleged to have occurred.
Mr
Rush's legal team argued the imputations conveyed by the articles included that
he was a "pervert", a "sexual predator" and had engaged in
"scandalously inappropriate" behaviour in the theatre.
Justice
Wigney said The Daily Telegraph and Mr Moran failed to adequately research the
stories before they published.
"This
is a sad and unfortunate case," he said.
Mr Rush, who
launched the proceedings last year, sat in court with his wife Jane
Menelaus and showed little emotion as a lengthy summary of the judgement was
read out.
Justice
Wigney said it would have been better "for all concerned" if the
issues arising from the articles had been dealt outside a defamation court.
"But
they were not. And so it comes to this."
Outside
court, Mr Rush thanked his wife and children for their support through the
"harrowing" time.
"There
are no winners in this case," he said.
"It's
been extremely distressing for everyone involved."
One
man yelled "congratulations Geoffrey" as Mr Rush spoke to the large
media pack.
'I told the truth'
Ms
Norvill said she stood by everything she said during the trial.
"I
told the truth," she said outside court.
"I
know what happened. I was there."
Ms
Norvill also said the case had caused "hurt" for
"everyone".
"I
would have been content to receive a simple apology and a promise to do better,
without any of this."
The three-week trial, held in October and November, captivated
the often-packed public gallery as a stream of some of the country's best-known
actors were called to give evidence.
Ms
Norvill told the court Mr Rush made groping
gestures towards her in a rehearsal and touched her breast during a harrowing
scene where the king mourned over his daughter's dead body,
among other allegations.
She
made no formal complaint at the time and wanted her concerns to be kept confidential,
but was called to give evidence when Nationwide News relied on a defence of
truth.
Ms
Norvill did not speak to the newspaper for the stories.
Mr
Rush's barrister, Bruce McClintock SC, said his client was earning $128,000 a
month before the stories, but had become too scared to work.
He
even suggested the Oscar-winner may never work again.
Mr
McClintock took swipes at the Australian media and said the case highlighted a
"serious problem" with journalism because reporters "took
sides" and "made judgments".
Tom
Blackburn, who represented The Daily Telegraph, argued there was a difference
between "inappropriate behaviour" and "pervert" or
"sexual predator".
The
articles also included a line from Mr Rush denying the allegations, he
stressed.
