Hugh Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness addresses rumours about his sexuality

Hugh Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness has hit back at "mean-spirited" tabloid stories about her husband's sexuality. 

During an interview on Australian television show Anh's Brush With Fame, Furness joked that the Wolverine star had been "gay for so many years" while discussing the persistent rumours that he hides his true sexual orientation.

"[Hugh's] been gay for so many years. I was gay, too, when I did [my 1988 film] Shame. They were shocked when I got married," Furness said. 

"I see [some of] these magazines and they’re so mean-spirited.

"I hope people realise it's all made up." 

Furness said she thought the constant speculation was "wrong", adding: "It's like someone saying to Elton John, 'Oh, he's straight'. I'm sure he'd be pissed!" 

Jackman himself has spoken about the rumours several times, admitting in a 2013 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the gossip did "bug" his wife. 

"She goes: 'It's big. It's everywhere!'" he said at the time. 

More recently, in 2018, Jackman shared his suspicions that the rumours began with his on-stage kiss with a male co-star in his role as openly gay singer Peter Allen in the Broadway show The Boy from Oz

"Some dudes do get upset, some dudes say, 'Don't say I'm gay'; [but] I am good," he said at the time, per Metro.