Equality advocates say forcing someone to "out" themselves is not only "offensive" but can have "profound and lifelong" impacts after the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) was accused of pressuring Rebel Wilson to reveal she was in a same-sex relationship.
The publication on Monday replaced Saturday's story "Rebel starts spreading the news" with an explanation and an apology, amid accusations the paper looked to "out" the Australian actor.
The episode also stirred up a surge of anger on social media, with supporters criticising the media for capitalising on people's lives while failing to offer the respect, dignity and privacy that individuals deserve.
In the original story, gossip columnist Andrew Hornery wrote that he "erred on the side of caution" and emailed Wilson's representatives during the week to give her two days to comment on her new relationship with Los Angeles designer Ramona Agruma before publishing the story.
Wilson didn't reply and instead posted about her "Disney princess" on Instagram on Friday.
"I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess," she said.
The post provoked Hornery to lament 42-year-old Wilson's "gazumping" of the story on Saturday.
"Of course, who anyone dates is their business, but Wilson happily fed such prurient interest when she had a hunky boyfriend," he wrote.
Then on Monday, Hornery replaced the original story with .
"I genuinely regret that Rebel has found this hard. That was never my intention. But I see she has handled it all with extraordinary grace. As a gay man I’m well aware of how deeply discrimination hurts. The last thing I would ever want to do is inflict that pain on someone else," he said.
He added it was not the Herald’s business to “out” people.
"That is not what we set out to do. But I understand why my email has been seen as a threat. The framing of it was a mistake," he added.
"The Herald and I will approach things differently from now on to make sure we always take into consideration the extra layer of complexities people face when it comes to their sexuality."
Meanwhile the Herald's editor Bevan Shields in which he said the paper would have asked the same questions had Wilson’s new partner been a man.
"To say that the Herald "outed" Wilson is wrong," he said.
"Wilson made the decision to publicly disclose her new partner, who had been a feature of her social media accounts for months," he added.
In her first comments on the controversy, Wilson responded with words of thanks to her supporters on Sunday.
"It was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace," she tweeted.
Coming out 'an incredibly personal journey'
Equality advocates say no one has the right to "out" someone.
"More than ever we need to understand that it is the individual’s right to privacy and “no person” or “any media” has the right to “out” someone causing them immense pain and conflict," Steven Asnicar, CEO of Diversity Australia, told SBS News.
He said the LGBTIQ+ community viewed the media and organisations asking them to declare their sexuality as "offensive".
"In a recent number of global Diversity and Inclusion Surveys, we have seen a marked reduction in people who identify as LGBTIQA+ now de-identifying so they don’t become the poster person for organisations to tick a box to meet their WGEA [Workplace Gender Equality Agency] targets, which are clearly out of touch with societal expectations.
"The laws in Australia provide to the individuals right to privacy and people need to take a stand when groups like SMH do what they do."
Nicky Bath, chief executive officer of LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, said people should be in charge of how and when they come out.
"Coming out is an incredibly personal journey and one that should never be forced onto anyone," she told SBS News.
"The press council have clear guidelines on reporting these issues and state that reference to a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or sex characteristics should be relevant to a story and in the public interest."
Ms Bath said even if someone had consented to the disclosure of that information as part of telling their story, the trauma can still result in family breakdowns and loss of support networks.
"People need to be ready and come out on their own terms.
"The other side of it is the joy, celebration and pride that is felt when you do come out," she added.
In its , the Australian Press Council states publications should "refrain from outing a person without their consent unless it is sufficiently in the public interest."
"There may be ramifications to a person’s safety, health and wellbeing by outing them without their consent. For example, persons of culturally diverse or religious backgrounds can be placed at real risk of harm if they are outed in a publication — especially if it is online," it adds.
Professor Paula Gerber at Monash University in Melbourne, who specialises in international human rights law, particularly relating to sexual minorities, also slammed the Herald for its "lack of understanding".
"Outing someone can have a profound and lifelong impact on their lives," she said. "For the SMH to claim that 'We would have asked the same questions had Wilson's new partner been a man' demonstrates a profound lack of understanding about the discrimination and persecution that LGBTIQA+ people have faced historically, and continue to face today.
"All people have a right to privacy, and that privacy includes if, when and how to disclose their sexual orientation," she added.
LGBTIQ+ Australians seeking support with mental health can contact QLife on 1800 184 527 or visit . also has a list of support services.
