Everything you need to know about the new allegations surrounding Rebel Wilson and her film The Deb.

Two years since she appeared in Netflix's Senior Year, Rebel Wilson is finally back making movies (and not just writing memoirs).

This time, she is making her directorial debut with the Australian movie The Deb, an adaption of the musical of the same name which is about two teenage girls who go to a debutante ball in a small country town.

Sounds wholesome right? Well, ever since this movie started being promoted, it's been plagued by rumours and lawsuits.

Rebel Wilson's The Deb co-star claims that the actress made up allegations.

One of the stars of The Deb, Australian actress Charlotte MacInnes, has alleged that allegations made by Rebel Wilson about events that took place while filming were not true.

The claims come as the film's three producers — Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden — are suing Wilson for defamation (more on that later).

Wilson accused Ghost of "inappropriate behaviour" towards MacInnes, but in documents obtained by The Guardian and filed in the Los Angeles superior court, MacInnes called the Pitch Perfect star's allegations that Ghost sexually harassed and abused her "absurd", saying this never occurred.

Rebel Wilson and Charlotte MacInnes at the Cannes Film Festival. Image: Getty.

"I was deeply disturbed by this behaviour, and felt very bullied and harassed by Wilson, who was the director of the film and in a position of authority over me," MacInnes wrote in the documents.

"Nothing that I told Wilson could reasonably have conveyed that I was reporting any misconduct, because there was no misconduct."

MacInnes rejected Wilson's claims that she was subjected to "depraved sexual demands" and was held "captive by Ghost and Cameron as she is shuttled from city to city with them," she said.

"These statements are completely false and absurd," MacInnes stated. "I have no idea what could cause Wilson and her attorney to make up such lies about me."

What Rebel Wilson said about The Deb.

Just as the movie is set to premiere in July, Wilson shared a message with her 11 million Instagram followers.

The Pitch Perfect actress said that the film was set to play at the closing night of the Toronto International Film Festival, but she alleged that the producers — Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden — have prevented the screening from going forward.

Hey now! Listen to The Spill's hosts discuss Rebel Wilson's claims. Post continues after podcast.

Wilson posted a lengthy Instagram video where she made several allegations about some of the producers who worked on The Deb.

"Sometimes in life where you try so hard and you just don't know what to do? This is that situation," Rebel began. "Let me try to explain as best I can."

The 44-year-old went on to claim the movie's premiere has been delayed.

"I'm so proud of The Deb, which is a little Australian original musical that is so cute, and it's awesome that it got selected for closing night of the Toronto Film Festival, which is like … just you know, the best platform, and to be a first-time female director it’s just like, I mean, it’s huge. It’s massive," she said.

"To have the joy of the movie being selected is one thing. But then to have the business partners that are involved in that movie turn around and say that no, the movie can’t premiere, is just beyond devastating."

Despite Wilson's claims, the movie did premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

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A post shared by Rebel Wilson (@rebelwilson)

Wilson then made some allegations about the producers, naming Ghost, Cameron and Holden.

"Why are they saying this? Why are they stopping it from premiering at Toronto? Well, this dates back to October of last year, where I discovered bad behaviour by these business partners," she said. "I reported, I guess you would say, their bad behaviour when I found out – not minor things, big things," Rebel continued.

"Since I reported that behaviour, I have been met with absolute viciousness and retaliatory behaviour. So I’m there on set. I’m trying to film my movie with my gorgeous Australian cast and crew who are so amazing — shout out to all of you guys.

"And yet every step of the way, these people, who I complained about, then tried to make my life hell. In the meantime, though, I still finished the movie. I made this great movie, The Deb."

Rebel Wilson's last movie was the 2022 comedy Senior Year. Image: Netflix.

Wilson expressed concerns over the future of the film.

"They're saying it can't come out. They might not release it. They might bury it. This is the work of hundreds of people who have put their heart and soul into this. And this behaviour is absolutely vile and disgusting," she said.

"I won't be threatened. I will speak the truth, and warn people about these people in the industry... so that's my dilemma. If the movie doesn’t play at Toronto, it’s because of these absolute f***wits."

The actress captioned her Instagram post, "If my movie gets buried at least you know why."

What the response has been from The Deb's producers.

In light of Wilson's claims, she is being sued for defamation.

In response to the allegations against the three producers – Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and executive producer Vince Holden – of her film The Deb, the trio have denied the accusations and filed defamation proceedings in the Los Angeles County of the Superior Court of California.

The three producers are seeking actual damages in the filing, along with costs and expenses.

The producers alleged that Wilson threatened the film's writer Hannah Reilly, who was the recipient of the Rebel Wilson theatremaker scholarship, which was why her play was turned into a film.

In court documents obtained by NewsWire, the three producers claimed that Wilson "has a history of fabricating false and malicious lies to hide her own lack of professionalism and advance her own self-interest."

They allege Wilson was trying to exaggerate her work on the movie.

"Rebel's goal in these several disputes was to get credit for work she did not do, and to overshadow young, upcoming artists who truly deserved the credit," the trio allege in the court documents.

“Each and every one of these insinuations is patently false and easily disproved."

Wilson is countersuing and her lawyers said they will use California's anti-Slapp laws, which protect freedom of speech on matters of public interest, to reject the defamation claims.

Rebel also posted on Instagram in response.

"It’s not defamation if it’s the TRUTH (those 'producers' who I mentioned in my last post have just filed a defamation suit against me and sent to the press)!" she wrote. "Let our cool movie play at Toronto and stop messing about with a rubbish defamation suit against me!"

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A post shared by Rebel Wilson (@rebelwilson)

A user by the name Grace Hyde, who is listed on IMDb as a unit assistant on The Deb, has come out to defend Wilson in a comment with over 1,000 likes.

"Myself and the rest of the crew are with you all the way. I’ve honestly never been on a production quite like The Deb. We've all said what a special film it was to work on. Never once did I hear a bad comment from any of the cast or crew about their time working on it or with you," Hyde wrote.

"We all know what a legend and fighter you are, so anything we the crew can do to help get this beautiful movie shown to the world, we are with you 100 per cent!"

At this early stage, it's unclear when, or if, The Deb will be available to watch by the wider public.

This article was originally published on July 15, 2024 and has since been updated with new information.

Feature image: Instagram/@rebelwilson@Getty.

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