BRISBANE, Australia — Hollywood star Rebel Wilson has successfully defended claims she defamed a young actress who played the lead role in her directorial debut. An Australian judge on Wednesday dismissed the case brought by “The Deb” actress Charlotte MacInnes, who had accused the “Pitch Perfect” star of spreading lies about her to millions of followers on Instagram. MacInnes said the posts had made her the “subject of abuse, hatred and ridicule online” and affected her career prospects. Justice Elizabeth Raper disagreed. In the posts, Wilson suggested MacInnes had withdrawn a complaint of sexual harassment against the film’s producers to further her career as an actor and singer. MacInnes denied ever having made a complaint. The claim and counterclaim are among serious allegations – including of smear campaigns and embezzlement – aired in multiple court cases now swirling around the production of the Australian musical comedy. Set in an outback Australian town, “The Deb” tells the story of two very different cousins – one from the city and one from the country – who unite ahead of a debutante ball. It was supposed to be a heartwarming tale of triumph, but its making has spawned a saga of its own. Wilson told “60 Minutes Australia” last year that the legal storm that engulfed the making of her first feature film was “like your worst nightmare,” and the issues had “come out of left field.” In an Instagram post after Wednesday’s ruling, Wilson thanked the judge and the Australian legal system for the “substantial win,” and said she was looking forward to moving on. One of the key claims related to an incident in September 2023, when MacInnes and producer Amanda Ghost shared a bath at a Sydney penthouse rented by the production company. In her ruling, Justice Raper said: “To say that the circumstances surrounding how they came to be in the bath are unusual would be an understatement.” MacInnes and Ghost said they were both in their swimsuits and entered the bath to warm up after Ghost had a physical reaction to swimming in the cold sea at the city’s Bondi Beach. Ghost said in her submission to the court that she was shivering uncontrollably and breaking out in welts that she hoped would disappear after warming up. MacInnes was also cold and the bath was big enough for both women, she said. Backing Ghost’s version of events, MacInnes said in her affidavit: “There was nothing sexual in any way.” However, Wilson claimed that MacInnes had told her that Ghost had asked her to take a bath and shower with her and that the experience made her “uncomfortable.” Wilson said she understood MacInnes to be reporting sexual harassment on set, and that as the director she was obliged to act on it. Justice Raper found that only one of the claims was “made out” – that MacInnes had changed her story about being uncomfortable, and that was not defamatory. The case was dismissed with MacInnes ordered to pay costs. Producers deny claims against them The penthouse bath claims are just some of the allegations aired in court filings surrounding the film, described in one review as a “fun, frothy, sassy musical.” According to court documents, Wilson’s relationship with the producers had started deteriorating before filming began in 2023 – and worsened during post-production. Explosive allegations were also made in a letter sent in June 2024 by Wilson’s lawyer Bryan Freedman to Ghost and the other producers of the film, Ghost’s husband Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden. In her affidavit, Ghost said the letter made “a number of seriously defamatory and false allegations of depraved sexual misconduct toward Charlotte by me and Gregor while at the Bondi Beach apartment.” “I was appalled by the letter and the false allegations that Rebel was making,” Ghost said. Ghost and her co-producers have launched their own defamation case against Wilson. Ghost claims Wilson played a role in creating smear websites that called her the “Indian Ghislaine Maxwell,” a reference to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s former partner, now jailed for her role in trafficking young girls to his home. Wilson has denied having anything to do with it. In social media posts, Wilson claimed the producers initially withheld consent to show the film at the Toronto International Film Festival to retaliate against her for drawing attention to their bad behavior. Ghost said she did not seek to prevent the film being shown at the TIFF. “The Deb” ultimately premiered at the TIFF in 2024. It was released in Australian cinemas earlier this year and is slated for release in the U.S. this August. Previous defamation win It’s not the first time Wilson has been at the centre of a high-profile defamation case. In 2017 the actress won a defamation claim she brought against publisher Bauer Media who she said had painted her as a “serial liar” in a series of articles in Australian lifestyle magazines. The articles suggested Wilson had lied about her name, age and upbringing as she chased fame in Hollywood. Justice John Dixon said Bauer Media had failed to show the claims made about Wilson were substantially true or trivial. At the time she was awarded Australia’s highest ever defamation payout – 4.5 million Australian dollars (US$3.6 million) – but it was later reduced to around $450,000 after the court of appeal found that the articles hadn’t seriously damaged her career. By Hilary Whiteman, CNN
