Rebel Wilson Slammed by Producers of Her Directorial Debut in Amended Defamation Suit That Invokes Her ‘False’ Claims About Sacha Baron Cohen
The feud between Rebel Wilson and the producers of her directorial debut is escalating.
On Monday evening, three producers behind the musical “The Deb” filed an amended complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court that expanded on their claims that the “Pitch Perfect” star defamed them when she accused them of “inappropriate behavior towards the lead actress of the film [and] embezzling funds from the film’s budget.” Wilson made the comments in a video posted on Instagram, in which she named the film’s producers Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron as well executive producer Vince Holden. The post is still live on the social media platform.
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The amended complaint paints a picture of a diva-like star who was MIA from the set for months at a time, made multiple unauthorized and improper disclosures about the film and is now retaliating with claims she “simply made them up with actual malice” because she was angry over final credits.
“Because Rebel shirked her professional obligations to the Plaintiffs, the Film, and everyone dedicated to its success, she started flailing and inventing problems to obfuscate her own failures,” it states. Also noteworthy, the defamation suit attempts to throw cold water on Wilson’s recent claims that Sacha Baron Cohen sexually harassed her on the set of the 2016 R-rated comedy “The Brothers Grimsby.”
The pitched battle between Wilson and the three producers stems from a dispute over writing and music credits on the film that revolves around a pair of teenage girls who attend a debutante ball in the Outback. Wilson wanted a full screenplay credit, but was only awarded an “additional writing by” credit by the Australian Writers Guild. Instead, Hannah Reilly was awarded sole screenplay credit. In their initial complaint, the producers said Wilson was unhappy with the guild’s decision, which was made earlier this year. “The Deb” also highlights the dangers of cancel culture in a twist that the producers call “ironic” in their suit.
The amended complaint, filed by attorneys Camille Vasquez, Samuel Moniz and Honieh Udenka, claims that Wilson “has a history of fabricating false and malicious lies to hide her own lack of professionalism and advance her own self-interest.” It adds: “This lawsuit is about holding Rebel accountable for her attempts to bully Plaintiffs into conceding to her unreasonable demands by spreading vicious lies without regard for the irreparable damage her reckless words would cause on the hard-earned personal and professional reputations of Plaintiffs.”
Earlier this month, Variety reported on the producers’ lawsuit as well as a letter of demand sent in June by Wilson to the producers that catalogued allegations of financial impropriety and sexual harassment.
Wilson, who is represented by attorney Bryan Freedman, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The producers of “The Deb” claim that Wilson’s scorched-earth post is a familiar move from her playbook. “In her autobiography, Rebel included false allegations about well-known actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s alleged inappropriate behavior,” the amended complaint states. “Due to these false allegations, portions of her autobiography were redacted when published in the United Kingdom and Australia. Nevertheless, Rebel successfully used the furor around such allegations to promote the sale of her book. As with this situation, Rebel hypocritically played the victim in order to elicit public sympathy in the hope that it would advance her professional self-interest.” (In her memoir “Rebel Rising,” Wilson accused the “Borat” star of pressuring her to perform nude. She also claimed that he once pulled his pants down on set and said, “Okay, now I want you to stick your finger up my ass.” Cohen called the allegation “demonstrably false.”).
The updated suit also alleges that Wilson fought for credit with the writers of the music for “The Deb” and “demanded that Plaintiffs provide her a record label with an external music group (a demand which was well outside of Plaintiffs’ power to provide).”
The producers claim that a vengeful Wilson retaliated by posting weaponized accusations in a public forum. “When Rebel did not get her way in this these disputes, she revived a fictitious story about Ms. Ghost sexually harassing a lead actor in ‘The Deb’ that has absolutely no basis in reality, as the actor that is the subject of this defamatory tale has repeatedly confirmed,” the complaint continues. “In addition, Rebel claimed, without any basis, that Ms. Ghost and Mr. Cameron were embezzling from the film’s budget. These statements are false, and Rebel knew they were false at the time she made them. Rebel knew that the actress at issue had repeatedly and unequivocally denied any form of wrongful conduct by Plaintiffs, but Rebel doubled down on her false story to promote her own selfish interests in her disputes with Plaintiffs, without regard for the Plaintiffs or the young, upcoming lead actress who she dragged into the center of her malicious scheme.”
The suit states that Wilson’s statements in her video post were false and caused the producers severe distress. “Rebel knew when she made the statements … that they were false, and/or acted with reckless disregard of the truth, including because she was informed by the lead actress that Ms. Ghost did not do anything inappropriate or wrongful, and because she was kept fully appraised of the film’s budget,” the suit states. “At the time the statements were made, Rebel had no plausible basis and no evidence to support her claims.”
“The Deb” landed the prestigious closing night spot of the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Given the bad blood that continues to spill, it is unclear if the musical will debut at the festival that often serves as an awards-season launchpad. (In her Instagram post, Wilson claimed that the three producers are “stopping it from premiering” at TIFF.) But sources say the film, which is being shopped for distribution by WME, is on track to make its world premiere at the festival.
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