Rebel Wilson has been accused of fabricating claims to be the young star of his film DebCharlotte MacInnes, complained about being sexually harassed by one of the producers when they shared a shower at Bondi’s apartment.
On the opening day of MacInnes v Wilson’s defamation trial in the Federal Court, her lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou SC, said the allegations against Amanda Ghost were made as a basis in a later dispute over the film’s budget.
MacInnes shared a shower after Ghost had a post-swim therapy session in September 2023 and both were wearing swimsuits at the time, Chrysanthou said.
Allegations of sexual harassment were raised weeks later when Wilson, who directed and starred Debwas in conflict with the producers about the product in the budget, according to MacInnes.
Wilson’s lawyer, Dauid Sibtain SC, said in response that Judge Elizabeth Raper did not need to make an inquiry into whether it was appropriate or inappropriate for the producer to share a shower with the young actress.
The main issue was whether MacInnes reported to Wilson that he was made to feel bad by Ghost and whether he later changed his story. “Our case is that … he changed his story,” he said.
Previously, Wilson talked about his love Deb when he was entering the court.
“I love movies,” he said. “Deb it is beautiful and amazing. Thank you to everyone who goes to the movies.”
MacInnes is suing Wilson for defamation over a series of four posts on Instagram between September 2024 and May last year.
MacInnes claims the Instagram posts show a range of false and defamatory meanings, including that he “falsely changed his story that the producer of the film. Deb had sexually assaulted her during the making of the film … in exchange for being hired by the producer in a major production role called GATSBY and given to a record label”.
She says Wilson lashed out at her by accusing her of lying “by denying that she made a complaint to Wilson about sexual harassment by the film’s producer.” Deb“.
In her statement of claim filed in court, MacInnes’ lawyers say the actress “made no ‘complaints’ to Wilson about the producer’s conduct towards her as alleged in Wilson’s posts”.
They say that on September 5, 2023, Amanda Ghost, “one of the producers of Debreceived a period of treatment after entering the cold water at Bondi Beach” and “MacInnes helped Ghost back to his house where they and others were staying and helped him recover with a hot shower and bath”.
“Both women remained in their bathing suits. A third person, Pia Ashcroft, a senior member of the production team who lives in the apartment, was also present.”
While MacInnes denies making complaints about Ghost to Wilson during the making of DebMacInnes’ lawyers also say that “any such complaints” would be “private and confidential” especially if the complaints involved allegations of sexual harassment or that MacInnes was made to feel uncomfortable by the producer”.
Such information “should not have been disclosed by Wilson to anyone except
MacInnes’ employer without MacInnes’s permission, and he certainly shouldn’t have
has been disclosed by Wilson to Ghost as the subject of the complaint”, MacInnes’ lawyers say.
If the court finds that Wilson has proven that MacInnes complained to him about Ghost, it will also need to consider whether it was a breach of trust for Wilson to disclose the information and whether to pay damages to MacInnes.
Wilson denies any breach of trust and says that at the time of his posts “the information was not confidential”.
The statement of claim also alleges that in August 2024 “Wilson asked his publicist, Melissa Nathan of the American PR firm, The Agency Group PR LLC, to register and publish on the Internet a series of malicious websites about Ghost”. Wilson denies these allegations.
In a defense filed in court, Wilson denies that the allegedly defamatory meanings were conveyed by the posts. In the event that the court finds the meanings were presented, he seeks to rely mainly on the defense of the truth.
He claims that in September 2023, MacInnes told him “the words that ‘Amanda (Ghost) asked me to take a bath and shower with her and it made me uncomfortable’.”
Adapted by Hannah Reilly from her 2022 action music, Deb is about a suspended inner-city private school student (MacInnes) who is sent to stay with his cousin (Natalie Abbott) in a drought-stricken town before the ball starts.
