Rebel Wilson has won a defamation case brought against her by actress Charlotte MacInnes, who played the lead role in her film The Deb.
MacInnes had claimed the Pitch Perfect star had harmed her reputation with Instagram posts about her in 2024 and 2025 and argued that they exposed her to “abuse, hatred and ridicule online” while harming her employment prospects.
In the posts, Wilson, 46, had accused MacInnes, 28, of retracting her complaint of sexual harassment against The Deb producer Amanda Ghost so she could further her career - a claim MacInnes denied.
Court ruling
On Wednesday, Justice Elizabeth Raper ruled that MacInnes had failed to establish the posts caused, or were likely to cause, serious harm, and ordered her to pay Wilson’s legal costs.
She said the only potentially defamatory meaning in Wilson’s posts was an allegation that MacInnes had changed her account of an incident involving Ghost, but ultimately ruled that this was not defamatory.
The trial focused on a September 2023 incident that involved MacInnes and Ghost during filming of Wilson’s directorial debut.
Incident details
Ghost had suffered an adverse physical reaction after swimming at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, shivering uncontrollably and developing welts, the court heard.
The pair returned to a luxury apartment rented by the production, where Ghost showered while MacInnes prepared a bath. Both women told the court they entered the bath wearing swimsuits to warm up and insisted “there was nothing sexual in any way”.
Justice Raper said in her ruling: “To say that the circumstances surrounding how they came to be in the bath are unusual would be an understatement.”
Wilson claimed in the trial that MacInnes had originally described the incident to her as making her feel “uncomfortable” after Ghost allegedly asked her to shower and bathe with her.
She told the court she took those remarks to amount to a report of sexual harassment and believed she had a responsibility as the film’s director to act upon them.
She denied making up the allegations or raising them as leverage in separate legal rows with the film’s production.
Wilson's defence
“I am known as a truth-teller,” Wilson said in the hearing, and added that her social media posts were about “telling the truth” rather than an attack on MacInnes.
MacInnes denied ever making or withdrawing a complaint of sexual harassment. Her lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC accused Wilson of carrying out a “complete revision of history” and called her “a fantastical liar who has made up terrible, terrible allegations about multiple people”.
Wilson’s barrister Dauid Sibtain SC argued that she “had no motive to lie” and claimed MacInnes had withdrawn the complaint because maintaining a positive relationship with Ghost would benefit her career.
Her team also insisted MacInnes’ career had not been harmed by the posts, pointing to a recent record deal that she had signed.
Aftermath
Wilson called her legal triumph a “substantial win” in an Instagram post after Wednesday’s ruling.
“It has tested me, but it has also reinforced something I've always believed. I want to live my life standing up for what I believe is right, while continuing to create work that brings people joy,” she added.
