Geoffrey Rush has been awarded $1.9 million after winning a defamation case against Australia’s Nationwide News over a story published in the company’s Daily Telegraph, multiple media outlets reported on Thursday.
The judgement is the largest ever defamation payout to a single person in Australia, according to BBC News.
The case brought by Rush centered on allegations made by Eryn Jean Norvill, who co-starred with him in Shakespeare’s “King Lear” during a production which ran in Sydney from 2015 to 2016.
The Telegraph article titled “King Leer” included Norvill accusing Rush of inappropriate touching, chasing her into a bathroom and sending salacious text messages — something the actor vigorously denied.