Geoffrey Rush Sues Daily Telegraph

Actor Geoffrey Rush says he is lodging defamation action against the Daily Telegraph after it printed allegations of inappropriate behaviour arising out of a complaint lodged with the Sydney Theatre Company.

"Today I have filed defamation proceedings against the Daily Telegraph in the Federal Court of Australia.  It is an action I am taking in order to redress the slurs and innuendo and hyperbole that they have created around my standing in the entertainment industry and in the greater community," Mr Rush said at a Melbourne media conference. 

"The Daily Telegraph has made false, pejorative and demeaning claims splattering them with unrelenting bombast on its front pages.

"This has created irreparable damage to my reputation. (It) has been extremely hurtful to my wife, my daughter and my son and to my extended family, as well as to many colleagues in the film, television and theatre industry.

"The situation is intolerable and I must now seek vindication of my good name through the courts."

Earlier Stage Whispers reports on this issue.

The Melbourne Theatre Company says it is taking a close look at allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against actor Geoffrey Rush but has no plans to change his casting in the forthcoming season of Twelfth Night.

The MTC’s artistic director Brett Sheehy told Stage Whispers, “we are monitoring it very very closely to see what comes to light. We can state that in all the years Geoffrey Rush has worked for this company … there has never been an allegation of inappropriate behaviour against him,” he said.

It has been reported on the ABC, News Limited and Fairfax Media that the Sydney Theatre Company "received a complaint alleging that Mr Geoffrey Rush had engaged in inappropriate behaviour" after he concluded his season of King Lear in 2015/2016.

Through his lawyers, Rush has vigorously denied the allegations, saying he had not been informed by STC either of the existence of the complaint or the nature of the complaint.

The MTC’s Brett Sheehy said “this is a matter for Geoffrey Rush and the STC. We have sought as much information as we can. We do have in place as good as it gets respectful workplace policies."

Photographer: Justin Ridler.