The column on Rebel Wilson, the "Pitch Perfect" actor, has been removed by The Sydney Morning Herald. The writer apologized for his "mistakes" following backlash from the public.
Andrew Hornery, Herald gossip columnist, wrote in the original Saturday article that he had emailed Wilson representatives two days prior to publication asking for comment on Ramona Agruma's relationship with Wilson.
Hornery stated that Wilson "opted to gazump" the story instead by posting the news on her Instagram account on Friday. This was a decision he called a "big mistake" and "underwhelming." Gazump, a British-Australian term for outbid or swindle, is also known as "Gazump".
Social media scrutiny of the column led to accusations that Wilson was being "outed" by the newspaper.
Herald editor Bevan Shields defends the column in a Sunday note to readers
Bevan wrote, "To say the Herald 'outed Wilson is wrong."
On Monday, however, Hornery replaced the column with a new article titled "I made mistakes over Rebel Wilson and will learn from them."
Wilson's manager didn't immediately respond to an email sent by NBC News requesting comment about the newspaper's decision.
Wilson replied to a Twitter journalist on Sunday with the following: "Thanks to your comments, it's a very difficult situation, but trying to manage it with grace."
Horney did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
He expanded on the original column in the new article.
Hornery wrote, "When I heard from Rebel's friends and associates that she was in a new romance, I was able to see that it was potentially a story. As a gossip columnist, I could see that that was potentially a news story. "But we made mistakes in our approach."
Hornery stated that he had sent his request for comment to Wilson's representatives via email. He noted his deadline and said, "I have multiple sources who have confirmed their status, and I have enough detail.
Wilson didn't respond to Hornery’s request for comment. He wrote and she revealed her relationship with Agruma via Instagram.
Hornery wrote, "My email was not intended to be a menace but to make it clear that I was sufficiently confident in my information and to start a conversation."
"It's not the Herald’s business to "out” people, and that is not what our goal was to do. However, I can understand why my email was viewed as a threat. He added that the framing of it was an error.
Hornery also apologised for appearing annoyed with Wilson by posting the news about their relationship on Instagram rather than responding to his email.
