Journalist who threatened to out Rebel Wilson as gay says he failed to ‘read the room’

Journalist Andrew Hornery has admitted that he “got it wrong” and failed to “read the room” when he threatened to out Rebel Wilson.

The Sydney Morning Herald journalist faced a wave of criticism when it emerged that the Pitch Perfect actress only came out publicly when he confronted her about her new girlfriend.

Hornery’s questions about her relationship prompted Wilson to publicly announce that she was dating Ramona Agruma in a heartfelt Instagram post.

He then wrote a column in which he said Wilson had “opted to gazump the story” by coming out on her own terms instead of letting him do it for her.

That column was subsequently deleted from the Sydney Morning Herald‘s website in the face of backlash, with even the Australian Press Council condemning Hornery’s actions.

In a new column, Hornery reflected on the controversy, admitting that he will be “more circumspect” in his reporting in the future.

“Never before has one of my 300-word celebrity romance stories – in which I mistakenly vented my frustrations at trying to get someone to talk – caused such a backlash,” Hornery wrote.

“Clearly, I got it wrong and hadn’t read the room.”

Andrew Horney apologised to Rebel Wilson for causing ‘distress’

Hornery said he had apologised to Wilson and Agruma for “being churlish and causing them distress”, adding: “My ill-fated attempt to pull back the curtains on the inner workings of celebritydom resulted in two of my childhood heroes admonishing me: Cher and Whoopi Goldberg. Gulp.”

Closing out his column, Hornery said Wilson and Agruma have “gone from strength to strength”.

“They’ve collaborated on their own range of designer tracksuits, travelled to the world’s best resorts, welcomed a baby girl via surrogate, made movies and partied with the rich and famous, from Paris Hilton to Julia Roberts. And I genuinely wish them both a happy new year.”

Hornery’s column comes just weeks after Wilson threw shade at The Sydney Morning Herald journalist during a speech at the AACTA Awards.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, the actor said: “There have been big things that have happened in my life this year, like big changes.

“I switched from dairy to soy. I thought I should tell you guys now and get the jump on The Sydney Morning Herald.”