Rebel Wilson has described allegations that she bullied women on a film set as “absolute nonsense” during her first day of testimony in a defamation trial in Sydney.
The case centres on Wilson’s directorial debut, The Deb, a musical about two teenagers attending a debutantes’ ball. Lead actor Charlotte MacInnes is suing the Bridesmaids star for defamation over a social media post in which Wilson claimed MacInnes made and later withdrew a sexual harassment complaint against producer Amanda Ghost to further her career.
Taking the stand on Tuesday, the 46-year-old actress was asked if she sees herself as a “champion of women”, to which she replied “yes”. She said: “If you look over my 24-year career, you can see many evidences of me supporting women.” When Sue Chrysanthou SC, representing MacInnes, accused Wilson of mistreating MacInnes, Ghost and a female writer, Wilson responded: “That’s absolute nonsense.”
Chrysanthou had previously told the court that Wilson was a “bully” for attacking MacInnes online. “Ms Wilson was not a whistleblower who was seeking to protect a young actress,” she said last week. It is also alleged that Wilson hired crisis PR firm The Agency Group (TAG) – the same one used by Justin Baldoni in his alleged campaign against Blake Lively – to publish websites attacking Ghost. Wilson has “unequivocally” denied any involvement in the websites.
MacInnes is seeking aggravated damages and a court order preventing Wilson from repeating the allegations. The film The Deb, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024, faced delays in its Australian release due to the legal issues.
