Rebel Wilson, the Australian comedienne known for her roles in movies like “Pitch Perfect” and “Bachelorette” has spent the last few days in an Australian courtroom. Wilson has sued the parent company of Australian Magazine Woman’s Day, Bauer Media, for defamation. She claims that the magazine published false claims that she had lied about a variety of facts of her life–including her age and upbringing–and that as a result, she has lost work opportunities.

In 2015, Woman’s Day released a series of eight articles in three days about Wilson. The first, which was headlined “Just who is the REAL Rebel?” claimed that she had fabricated some of the details of her life, and according to Wilson’s lawsuit, essentially painted her as a serial or pathological liar. The articles specifically suggested she lied about her age, her real name, and her upbringing. But there doesn’t appear to be evidence that Wilson ever misrepresented her age, and she has been open that “Rebel” is not her birth name, but a nickname that she later changed her name to. The articles also claimed that she had attended an elite boarding school when she was younger, while Wilson has maintained that she was raised in a more rural area.

According to the lawsuit, the information used for the articles came from an anonymous source who claimed to have gone to school with Wilson. The writer of the articles, Shari Nementzik, saw an online comment made by the anonymous source on another Woman’s Day article, and reached out to her. Emails between Nementzik and the source revealed that the source was looking for money to talk about what she “knew.” Originally, it appears as though lawyers told Woman’s Day the story was too risky, legally speaking, to publish. But the information was still published in 2015.

Wilson claims that after the articles were released, her career took a hit. She testified in court earlier this week that she lost roles in the animated films “Trolls” and “Kung Fu Panda 3” after the articles came out, and she has struggled to find work ever since. The trial is ongoing, and Wilson is seeking unspecified damages.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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While law degrees are usually associated with stern, hardworking, white-collar professionals, there are other J.D. holding candidates who portray a different image. In fact many of us look up to these people without even knowing it, as they resemble some of today’s hottest celebrities and athletes.

Check out the slideshow below to learn which of your favorite celebs happen to hold law degrees.

Image courtesy of ljzerman via Flickr

Law School Attended: Leiden University
Graduated: 2003

If you’ve ever listened to the music genre EDM, you know the name Armin van Buuren; however, electronic fans would be surprised to learn that the Dutch DJ, radio host, and music producer also happens to have an accredited law degree.

Not only does this worldwide celebrity’s career span a staggering 15 years, but his singles have topped DJ Mag’s Top 100 poll on five different occasions. Van Buuren has also performed at every major music festival including EDC, Ultra Music Festival, Tomorrow World, and Tomorrow Land, just to name a few.

But in the early days, van Buuren attended Leiden University in the Netherlands and studied law. After three sporadic years, he finally completed his J.D. in 2003.

Symon Rowlands

Symon Rowlands is a member of the University of Miami Class of 2016 and was a Law Street Media Fellow during the Summer of 2015. Symon now blogs for Law Street, focusing mostly on politics. Contact Symon at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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