Actor Geoffrey Rush, Oscar winner (“Shine”), has won his defamation case against the News Corp.-owned newspaper Daily Telegraph in his home country of Australia.
The paper had published a story in which actress Erin Norvill accused Rush of inappropriate sexual behavior during a stage production of “King Lear” in Sydney.
Judge Michael Wigney on Thursday called the report “a recklessly irresponsible piece of sensationalist journalism” that relied on allegations from an accuser “prone to exaggeration and embellishment.” Norvill, speaking outside the courtroom after the verdict, said she stood by her testimony.
Wigney awarded Rush A$850,000 ($600,000) in aggravated damages. The actor is expected to receive further payments for loss of earnings at a further hearing in May.
After exiting the courtroom, Rush said he was grateful for the verdict. But, he added, “there are no winners in this case. It’s been extremely distressing for everyone involved.” Details of the case were heard by the court last October and November. At the beginning of proceedings, Rush said the period between the time the allegations surfaced and the trial had been “the worst 11 months of my life.”
