Rebel Wilson is in court accused of defaming the star of a movie she directed.
The Australian actress, 46, was in federal court in Sydney on Monday, accused of smearing Charlotte MacInnes by claiming she withdrew an allegation of sexual harassment against producer Amanda Ghost and instead supported her in the interest of financial and professional benefit.
MacInnes, 26, claims that Wilson orchestrated a campaign of smears across four posts on Instagram, suggesting she had lied about the alleged harassment.
Wilson claims MacInnes had confided in her after sharing a bath with Ghost, while all three women were working on The Deb in 2023, the Guardian reports.
Ghost and MacInnes had swum together at Bondi Beach and returned to a penthouse nearby after Ghost had an outbreak of hives. The pair then shared a large bathtub together while wearing swimming costumes, MacInnes’s senior counsel, Sue Chrysanthou, said in court. She added her client was not concerned by the bath encounter or Ghost’s actions.
Hot drinks were bought by a third woman, fellow actor on the movie, Katelin Koprivec, and the pair spoke to Bridesmaids star Wilson on the phone at that time.
Wilson claimed that the following day, MacInnes had expressed concern about Ghost’s behavior. MacInnes says that, while they did speak, she raised no such allegations. This is what the case hinges on, not whether anything happened between Ghost and MacInnes.
“The central issue for determination in this case… is this: whether Ms. MacInnes reported to Ms. Wilson that she’d been asked by Ms. Ghost to shower and bathe with her and whether she said it made it feel uncomfortable and whether she later changed her story,” Wilson’s senior counsel, Dauid Sibtain, said.
There is no evidence that MacInnes alleged sexual harassment, Chrysanthou said, adding various texts and emails between Ghost, 51, MacInnes, and Wilson from the time all attest to this.
Sibtain said that MacInnes had received “life-changing opportunities” from Ghost after The Deb, her first leading role. “All of this wealth of prizes and opportunities that have materialized have come, we would suggest, because Ms. MacInnes decided to tie herself to Ms. Ghost, and tie herself to Ms. Ghost’s version,” he said.
However, Chrysanthou said that Wilson’s demeanor changed only when there were disagreements over The Deb’s budget. “Ms. Wilson, as part of that dispute, raises the issue of sexual harassment as leverage, we say,” Chrysanthou said. “We say this is a habit of hers whenever she doesn’t get her way. She raises this allegation… that had been put to bed for her own commercial benefit.”
According to the Guardian, Chrysanthou also told the court that Wilson allegedly hired lawyers, private investigators, and a PR agency amid the dispute over the budget with producers.
She also said that a trail of breadcrumbs from the online attacks led back to Wilson and her team.
Wilson “never asked anyone to publish” anything about Ghost, her lawyers told the court.
The damages being sought have not been determined at the time of writing.
Wilson has denied the claims. The hearing continues and is expected to last nine days.
