Geoffrey Rush (Credit: Wikipedia/Eva Rinaldi)

The Australian Telegraph newspaper recently reported that the Academy Award-winning actor Geoffrey Rush was accused of “inappropriate behavior,” without specifying whether it was of a sexual nature. In response, Rush filed a libel lawsuit against the Telegraph, as iMediaEthics reported.

But, in another twist on the case, an arts website, the Daily Review in Australia, apologized for its reporting that Rush was accused of sexual harassment. The Daily Review‘s website identifies it as publishing “film, stage and music reviews, interviews and more.”

Australian media site Mumbrella reported that the Daily Review’s error came in reporting on the Telegraph’s reporting.  “Last week, we mistakenly used the term ‘sexual harassment’ in a story about the implications of the incident for the STC. We should have used the term ‘inappropriate behaviour’ and for this we unreservedly apologise,” Mumbrella’s editor Raymond Gill wrote in the Daily Review.

iMediaEthics has written to the Review to ask if the site was reporting on the Telegraph‘s claims and inaccurately characterized the allegation as sexual harassment, or if it was reporting on separate allegations. The Telegraph‘s story only reported that Rush was accused of “inappropriate behavior,” and didn’t allege sexual harassment.

The Dec. 9 apology from the Daily Review states:

“Recently, we published an article that reported the actor, Geoffrey Rush, was the subject of a sexual harassment claim. Daily Review acknowledges this is not, in fact, the case. We take this opportunity to unequivocally apologise to Mr Rush for this error and any harm or embarrassment this may have caused him.”