The producers of her new film The Deb have branded Rebel Wilson a “malicious bully” as the fallout from the film’s botched premiere continues to deteriorate.
The 44-year-old actress was sued for defamation this month by producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden in a blistering lawsuit.
This came after Wilson shared a video on Instagram criticizing the producers for allegedly blocking the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
In response, producers accused her of “shirking her responsibilities” as a director by disappearing from the set for extended periods, bullying staff, falsely claiming writing credits, and repeating a “fictional” claim that Ghost had sexually harassed a lead actor on the film.
In an amendment to the lawsuit obtained by DailyMail.com, the producers have now cited Wilson’s allegations against Sacha Baron Cohen that she made in her autobiography earlier this year.
They claimed the “false” accusations were “used to promote the sale of her book” as she “hypocritically played the victim to gain public sympathy in the hope that it would further her professional interests.”
Rebel Wilson, 44, has been accused of making “false” allegations against actor Sacha Baron Cohen “to promote the sale of her book” earlier this year, by the producers of her latest film, who are suing her for defamation.
In her memoir Rebel Rising, the Australian actress, 44, made shocking claims about her experience filming The Brothers Grimsby with “jerk” comedian Sacha Baron Cohen – which he has strongly denied.
Wilson’s sexual harassment allegations against Sacha Baron Cohen sparked a media storm earlier this year as she claimed her experience with the actor triggered an eating disorder.
She alleged that on the set of the 2016 comedy The Brothers Grimsby, Sacha would ask her to strip for scenes despite his “no nudity” rule, in a series of claims Sacha has strenuously denied.
But in the updated lawsuit, producers cited this episode to counter their claims about The Deb, as they alleged Wilson has “a history of fabricating false and malicious lies to conceal his own unprofessionalism and advance his own interests.”
“This is normal for Rebel,” the lawsuit continues.
‘In her autobiography, Rebel included false accusations about alleged inappropriate behavior by well-known actor Sacha Baron Cohen.
‘Because of these false accusations, parts of his autobiography were removed when it was published in the UK and Australia.
‘However, Rebel successfully used the furore surrounding such allegations to boost sales of her book. As in this situation, Rebel hypocritically played the victim in order to elicit public sympathy.’
They said that after the actress’s latest accusations against the producers of The Deb, “Rebel has applied this strategy once again.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to Wilson’s representatives for comment on the updated lawsuit.
The defamation suit against Wilson stems from her allegations that the producers of her new film The Deb blocked the film from premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Rebel in a scene from the musical comedy The Deb, which was filmed in Australia last year
The suit was filed by producers Vincent Holden (left), Gregor Cameron and Amanda Ghost (pictured together right), who called Wilson a “malicious bully.”
The trio of producers are being represented in their lawsuit against Wilson by Johnny Depp’s former attorney, Camille Vasquez, and are seeking more than $35,000 in damages.
The legal battle began when Wilson claimed in an Instagram video that The Deb was going to shut down the Toronto Film Festival, but was blocked by Ghost, Cameron and Holden.
She also accused the producers of “bad behavior” on the set, of embezzling funds from the film and calling them “vile and disgusting.”
After the producers of Wilson’s film claimed the allegations were “false” and launched their defamation suit, Wilson again took to Instagram to criticize his former colleagues.
She claimed that “it’s not defamation if it’s the truth,” adding: “Let our great movie play in Toronto and stop wasting your time with a garbage defamation lawsuit against me!”
In the lawsuit against her, Wilson is accused of being a “bully” on set who made “unreasonable demands.”
When these demands were not met, the suit claims, the actress “spread cruel lies with no regard for the irreparable harm her reckless words would cause to Plaintiffs’ hard-earned personal and professional reputations.”
The legal battle began when Wilson accused the producers of his film of “bad behavior” on the set and misappropriation of film funds, which he called “vile and disgusting.”
“For years, Rebel has portrayed a fun-loving, affable girl on the big screen, and off the big screen, she has portrayed herself as an advocate for other female performers and a whistleblower of abusive behavior within the film industry,” the lawsuit continued.
‘But this public image is a farce. Rebel is a bully who ignores the interests of others to promote her own.’
Another startling claim made by the producers is that Wilson hired a young writer, Hannah Reilly, to develop a script for The Deb, before attempting to steal the credit for herself.
The suit states: ‘She awarded a young artist a grant to develop a screenplay for “The Deb” (the “Movie”), and then attempted to claim writing credit for herself.
‘And, when Rebel failed to get her way in business negotiations with Plaintiffs regarding “The Deb” (including writing credit), Rebel attempted to bully Plaintiffs into giving her what she wanted by leveraging her personality and platform, with many millions of followers, to spread malicious lies about Plaintiffs.’
The plaintiffs allege that they “took a risk on Rebel,” who is a “rookie” in directing and producing, but claim that “she steadfastly refused to cooperate with the plaintiffs” and exhibited “reckless conduct.”
Wilson’s allegations against Sacha Baron Cohen came shortly before he announced his separation from his wife, actress Isla Fisher (pictured together in 2022).
The Deb, starring Wilson and comedian Shane Jacobson, centers on a rural schoolgirl preparing for her debutante ball.
The film will also star ABC series Aftertaste actress Natalie Abbott, as well as newcomer Charlotte McInnes.
Locations include rural towns such as Carcoar, Blayney and Orange, as well as Sydney.
Last October, Rebel revealed that she had turned down major offers in the United States in order to make her directorial debut in Australia.
“If I had to direct a film, it would only be in Australia because for me it’s something authentic,” Rebel told The Daily Telegraph at the time.
“I didn’t want to do the studio jobs that were offered to me in the United States because I didn’t feel I had that connection to the heart,” she explained.
Wilson said that during filming, she “discovered some bad behavior” from producers, and after struggling to finish the movie, she was told she couldn’t premiere it at the Toronto Film Festival.
‘This is the work of hundreds of people and this behavior is absolutely vile and disgusting.
“I’m going to tell the truth and warn people about people in the industry who are not behaving ethically. That’s my dilemma: if that movie doesn’t play in Toronto, it’s going to be because of these complete morons,” he said at the time.
