Rebel Wilson may be smiling ear after coming out, but it appears the actress may not have shared her journey on her own terms entirely.
In an opinion piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald, private columnist Andrew Hornery wrote that the Australian newspaper sought comment from the Pitch Perfect actress about her relationship with girlfriend Ramona Agruma before she revealed their romance publicly, in a June 9 Instagram post.
"It was an abundance of caution and respect that this media outlet emailed Rebel Wilson's representatives on Thursday morning," Hornery wrote on June 10, "giving her two days to comment on her new relationship with another woman, LA leisure wear designer Ramona Agruma, before publishing a single word."
He continued, "Big mistake. Wilson opted to gazump the story, posting about her new ‘Disney Princess' on Instagram early Friday morning."
E! News has reached out to Wilson's rep for comment about Hornery's column.
Hornery continued, "Considering how bitterly Wilson had complained about poor journalism standards when she successfully sued Woman's Day for defamation, her choice to ignore our discreet, genuine and honest queries was, in our view, underwhelming."
Later on, Hornery insinuated that the article outing Wilson would not have been such a big deal given that "sexual orientation is no longer something to be hidden, even in Hollywood."
Social media quickly exploded with users slamming the journalist and the newspaper.
"let me get this straight. @AndrewHornery @smh wanted to out Rebel Wilson and then threw a tantrum when she did it on her own terms," one user tweeted. "what the f--k. so f--ked up."
Another tweeted, "It's pretty clear that Rebel Wilson was forced to come out, likely earlier than she wanted to. This sort of outing used to happen a lot in the 80s and early 90s. It was atrocious then, and atrocious now."
In her Instagram post, Wilson, 42, shared a snapshot of herself with Agruma, cuddled up close and smiling.
"I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince," the actress wrote. "But maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess. #loveislove."
On month earlier, Wilson—who briefly dated Jacob Busch until February 2021, hinted she had a new partner, saying she was "happily in a relationship."
"It was a friend set-up," she explained on a May episode of the U Up? podcast. "He'd known both of us for, at least, five years each and was like, ‘Yeah, I think you two would hit it off.' And then we did!"