‘Clearly not too busy’: Rebel lashed in film lawsuit
The integrity of Australian A-lister Rebel Wilson has been called into question over an expected delay in providing material for a defamation lawsuit filed by an up-and-coming actor.
Charlotte MacInnes is the star of Wilson’s directorial debut, The Deb, an unreleased musical that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024 but has since been mired in legal proceedings.
MacInnes is suing Wilson over a series of social media posts in which he says the rookie director revealed that his leading actor was sexually harassed by a female producer on the film.
The actor, who came forward, denied the allegations, calling them a “fabricated narrative” and added that “false accusations undermine the real victims.”
But this did not deter Wilson, who repeated the allegations and added that MacInnes was given a job by the producer and signed a record deal.
“(This) should be all the evidence you need as to why he changed his story now,” he told the Daily Mail.
The defamation case came before the Federal Court for the first time on Friday, nearly a month after MacInnes filed the lawsuit.
High-profile libel barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC pushed for a speedy resolution, arguing that her client, who had been “unapologetically slandered”, had “suffered ongoing damage to his reputation”.
But the Hollywood star’s lawyer said it would be difficult for Wilson to quickly testify under oath without seeing the content of the complaints against him.
“Their evidence is not simple and straightforward,” said Renée Enbom KC.
“It is set in 2022 and deals with many issues, not just sexual harassment.”
Ms. Chrysanthou opposed the delay, arguing that Wilson must be “very familiar” with speeches he has repeated publicly.
“People who are telling the truth don’t need to see the documents to make a statement,” he said.
“While Ms. Wilson has persistently claimed to have been having these conversations for a year, we do not understand why she is being assisted with text messages to help her remember what happened. This is concerning to us.”
Ms Chrysanthou said Wilson was no busier than anyone else in the court and had enough time to continue making statements to the media about MacInnes.
“Obviously it’s not very busy,” he said.
Ms Enbom said people giving evidence about events that occurred years ago “often have to be supported by documentation”.
His lawyer said there was no evidence to suggest Wilson, who was working on another film on the other side of the world, continued to talk about the emerging actress.
Wilson was ordered to make a statement by December 10 and the matter will return to court in February.
This is the third legal incident involving the embattled 2024 film directed by Wilson, after production company AI Film accused the star of trying to sabotage the film’s release.
The lawsuit, lodged in the NSW Supreme Court, alleges that the Pitch Perfect actor made highly derogatory public comments for this purpose.
The comments are also the focus of a defamation lawsuit filed against Wilson in California.
Rialto has reportedly acquired distribution rights to The Deb in Australia and New Zealand, with plans for a large theater release in January.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Resolution Support Service 1800 211 028
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