Rebel Wilson refutes bullying 'The Deb's lead and smear website claims

Rebel Wilson has maintained her stance as a “supporter of women” during a heated legal battle involving the star and producer of The Deb, marking her directorial debut.

The Deb‘s leading actress Charlotte MacInnes is taking legal action against Wilson for defamation in Australia, with the Pitch Perfect actress testifying for the first time on Tuesday in what is a nine-day trial.

MacInnes claims that Wilson harmed her reputation by stating she was a victim of “improper conduct” by The Deb producer Amanda Ghost, and then worked with Ghost to hide what occurred. Wilson asserts that MacInnes mentioned Ghost’s actions to her.

Wilson spoke softly as she was cross-examined by Sue Chrysanthou, MacInnes’ attorney, at Tuesday's hearing. 

Chrysanthou accused Wilson of mistreating MacInnes, Ghost, and The Deb‘s scriptwriter, Hannah Reilly, despite Wilson claiming in her statement to be a “supporter of women.”

“That’s completely false,” Wilson answered back. “If you examine my 25-year career, you will find numerous instances where I’ve supported women,” she continued.

Wilson also rejected any involvement in creating websites defaming Ghost, which included labeling the producer as the “Indian Ghislaine Maxwell.”

MacInnes’ legal team has accused Wilson of employing Melissa Nathan, a publicist from The Agency Group (TAG), to create these websites.

MacInnes’ lawsuit features messages first revealed in the It Ends with Us conflict between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, wherein PR executive Nathan tells former colleague Katie Case that “Rebel wants” a “really tough” site about “Amanda.”

Wilson has always refuted this, informing a US court last year that she “firmly” had no part in “conceiving, planning, registering, directing, creating, writing, or posting the website content.”

During court proceedings on Tuesday, Wilson stated her US attorney Bryan Freedman engaged The Agency Group for assistance in a legal matter with Ghost, but denied her personal involvement. 

“You are aware you’ve been untruthful about this matter for a year, aren’t you?” Chrysanthou asked. “No,” Wilson replied.

Last week, former TAG staffer Case told the Sydney court she was given a “complete draft” of the desired content for the website but was unsure of its author. Metadata showed Camp Sugar, Wilson’s production company, was among the creators.

“I can’t account for that,” Wilson told the court. Dauid Sibtain, Wilson’s lawyer, has previously argued that the Ghost websites are merely a “distraction” and that the “central issue in this case” is whether MacInnes “actually made a complaint to Ms. Wilson.”

The core of the case involves an incident from September 2023, where Ghost and MacInnes shared a bath in a Sydney flat following a swim at Bondi Beach. Wilson asserts MacInnes confided in her about feeling uneasy with the situation, and MacInnes later changed her story when Ghost extended career advancement offers.

Wilson commented: “This is such a vibrant, girl-power film, and the last thing I needed at that point was a sexual misconduct claim from a leading actress against a producer.”

As Tuesday’s session ended, Chrysanthou noted that Wilson was being “unreliable” in her testimony. Sibtain argued that his client was making efforts to provide full and honest responses.

The The Deb conflict is unfolding on multiple stages in Los Angeles and Australia, overshadowing the feel-good film about rural teens attending a debutante ball. The movie was recently released in Australia but lacks a US distributor.