Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush won damages of at least 850,000 Australian dollars ($610,000) on Thursday after a court ruled that the Australian arm of News Corp. defamed him by saying he behaved inappropriately toward a co-star in a production of King Lear.
The Federal Court, which found News Corp.'s Daily Telegraph tabloid in Sydney failed to prove its stories were true, will later determine further damages for economic harm, such as Rush's loss of movie roles and the effect on his career.
"This was in all the circumstances a recklessly irresponsible piece of sensationalist journalism of the worst kind, the very worst kind," Judge Michael Wigney said in a decision read to a crowded courtroom.
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