The actress at the centre of an extraordinary legal spat between Rebel Wilson and the producers of her new movie The Deb has slammed the Aussie star’s claims she was sexually harassed on the set of the film.
Wilson, 44, was sued in July by producers Amanda Ghost, Gregory Cameron and Vince Holden who allege she falsely claimed they had embezzled funds from the movie and had behaved with ‘absolute viciousness and retaliatory behavior’.
In a countersuit, Wilson, 44, has accused the producers of sabotaging the film project, embezzling funds and sexually harassing the lead star – Charlotte MacInnes.
Now, in documents filed to the Los Angeles superior court and obtained by The Guardian, MacInnes, 25, claims she informed Wilson, who was the director of the movie, that she was never sexually harassed by one of the film’s producers, Amanda Ghost.
Despite informing Wilson this behaviour had never occurred, she allegedly still accused Ghost of sexually harassing and abusing MacInnes.
‘I was deeply disturbed by this behaviour by Wilson, who was the director of the film and in a position of authority over me,’ MacInnes alleged.
‘Nothing that I told Wilson could reasonably have conveyed that I was reporting any misconduct, because there was no misconduct.
‘I also understand [there were] claims that I was subjected to ‘depraved sexual demands’ and that ‘MacInnes remains captive by Ghost and (fellow producer) Cameron as she is shuttled from city to city with them including Boston, New York, and London’.
‘These statements are completely false and absurd. I have no idea what could cause Wilson and her attorney to make up such lies about me.’
Charlotte MacInnes (right), the actress at the centre of an extraordinary legal spat between Rebel Wilson (left) and the producers of her new movie The Deb has refuted the Aussie star’s claims she was sexually harassed on the set of the film
The three producers of The Deb have filed a defamation lawsuit against the Australian comedian, slamming her claims as ‘fictitious’ and having ‘no basis in reality.’
They accuse her of bullying and falsely accusing Ghost of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ towards MacInnes, with Ghost noting in the defamation suit that the actress strongly denied being subjected to such when asked about Wilson’s claims.
A legal complaint obtained by DailyMail.com reveals the feud broke out following a series of disputes over writing credits and Wilson’s behaviour on set of The Deb, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last month.
The producers say when Wilson ‘did not get her way in these disputes’ she ‘revived a fictitious story about Ghost sexually harassing a lead actor in ‘The Deb’ that has absolutely no basis in reality, as the actress that is the subject of this defamatory tale has repeatedly confirmed.
Rebel Wilson, pictured with MacInnes (second from right) and other cast members in May 2023, has been sued for defamation after accusing producers of sabotaging her project
In a statement released to DailyMail.com, MacInnes previously confirmed she is the actress referred to in the lawsuit and angrily accused Wilson of ‘undermining real victims’ with her ‘false’ claims.
She said: ‘There is no truth to the allegations made involving me. I made a statement to the film team when this was first said in September 2023 and am saying this now to draw a line under it.
‘Making false accusations undermines real victims and I won’t be the subject of a fabricated narrative.’
Court papers exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com last month show Wilson filed a countersuit that accuses producers Ghost, Gregory Cameron and Vince Holden of embezzling $900,000 AUD ($620,000 USD, £467,351 GBP) by inflating the movie’s budget.
Wilson also says Ghost also made false promises to get her on board, including a writing credit and recording contract that never materialised, and forced her into signing contracts while threatening to sabotage her career if she didn’t.
She also claims Cameron, who is Ghost’s husband, of ‘physical intimidation’ and says that he and his wife banded together to ‘undermine’ the film.
According to the suit, Ghost dished out treatment to Colombian megastar Shakira and while occupying the role of president at Epic Records.
However, in a statement to DailyMail.com Shakira denied the accusation.
‘I have been friends with Amanda for more than 15 years, have written songs together and share respect and love for each other,’ Shakira said.
‘We have never argued and I am confused and disappointed that someone randomly has suggested otherwise’.
Wilson doubled down on previous allegations about MacInnes suffering sexual harassment at the hands of Ghost – despite the 25-year-old denying anything happened in a statement released to DailyMail.com.
The film’s premiere has been overshadowed by the feud, with Wilson doubling down on her claims in an Instagram video in July
Musical comedy The Deb follows the story of farm girl Taylah Simpkins and her city slicker cousin Maeve as they look for dates for an upcoming ball.
It marks the first big screen appearance for MacInnes, who plays lead role Maeve and has received glowing reviews for her performance in the film.
Previously, she starred in Australian murder mystery series North Shore and, in May, made her US stage debut in the role of Daisy in a musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby.
But the film’s premiere has been overshadowed by the feud, with Wilson hitting back at the producers in an Instagram video in July after news of the lawsuit emerged, telling followers: ‘It’s not defamation if it’s the TRUTH (those ‘producers’ who I mentioned in my last post have just filed a defamation suit against me…’
She had previously dubbed them ‘vile and disgusting’, accused them of ‘bad behaviour’ and doubled down on her embezzlement claims.
The current case centres on a dispute about writing credits on The Deb and accuses her of bullying behaviour on set.
In the complaint, seen by DailyMail.com, Wilson is accused of bullying behaviour, as well as fabricating the story about MacInnes.
It reads: ‘[Wilson] has a history of fabricating false and malicious lies to hide her own lack of professionalism and advance her own self-interest.
Wilson posed with some of the cast and crew at the red carpet premiere of the film at the Toronto Film Festival on September 14
‘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.’
‘For years, Rebel has played the affable funny girl on the big screen and, off screen, portrayed herself as a champion of other female artists and whistleblower against abusive conduct within the film industry.
‘This public persona, however, is a farce. Rebel is a bully who will disregard the interests of others to promote her own.’
The plaintiffs allege they ‘took a chance on Rebel’ who is a ‘novice’ to directing and producing but claim ‘she flatly refused to collaborate with Plaintiffs’ and exhibited ‘reckless conduct.’
The court battle over The Deb follows a controversy earlier this year over a chapter in Wilson’s memoir, Rebel Rising, in which she claimed Sasha Baron Cohen harassed her on the set of The Brothers Grimsby.
Wilson, who played Baron Cohen’s girlfriend Dawn in the film, accused him of making her uncomfortable with repeated requests for nudity and asking ‘Rebel, can you just stick your finger up my butt?’ during a skit.
After Baron Cohen, 52, described the claims as ‘demonstrably false’ and threatened to call the lawyers in, the book was published with redactions in the UK to avoid falling foul of the country’s notoriously tough libel and defamation laws.
