Spotlight on Rebel Wilson as she testifies in film feud
Hollywood star Rebel Wilson is set to spend a second day in the spotlight after denying repeated accusations that she lied during a heated smear battle with her co-star.
The Pitch Perfect star is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, her 27-year-old co-star in musical comedy The Deb.
MacInnes claims he was defamed by Wilson in social media posts that suggested he was a liar who withdrew a sexual harassment complaint to further his acting and music career.
Wilson claims that the young actor said he felt uncomfortable after the film’s co-producer Amanda Ghost asked him to take a shower and bath together in September 2023.
“It quite surprised me,” Wilson told the Federal Court on Tuesday during his first day of testimony.
“I perceived it as a sexual harassment complaint.”
The actor told the court The Deb had been years in the making and was only weeks away from filming.
“It’s a fun girl power movie, and the worst thing that could have fallen into my lap at that point was a sexual harassment complaint,” she said.
The conversation allegedly took place a day after MacInnes took a bath with Miss Ghost in their swimsuits to warm up after the producer suffered a medical crisis at Bondi Beach.
MacInnes denies complaining to Wilson and insists he never said he felt uncomfortable.
The Bridesmaids star said she asked the young actress if she was okay and reported the matter to another producer before escalating the issue at a later date.
He will continue to testify on Wednesday, when he is expected to be questioned following the alleged complaint.
The first-time director wrote in his affidavit that he overheard the producer and the young star saying sexually explicit things to each other, but MacInnes dismissed it as a lie.
Wilson is likely to be questioned over MacInnes’ own claim in an affidavit that he staged a cyberattack on the older actor’s social media accounts.
MacInnes claims his Snapchat account was breached and an attempt was made to breach his Facebook account just days after he took legal action against Wilson in September last year.
She claims the hack led to her nude photo being leaked to all her contacts.
“I believe this was planned by Rebel,” he wrote in his statement.
No evidence has yet been released in open court to support his claim, and Wilson has not been questioned about it.
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