Australian director and actor Rebel Wilson has been put on notice for further legal action, this time in a defamation case brought by Charlotte MacInnes, the Australian star of beleaguered comedy The Deb, the feature directorial debut of Wilson.
MacInnes has today (August 7) served Wilson with a concerns notice, the first step in initiating defamation proceedings in Australia. Wilson will have 28 days to respond to the notice, including offering amends – such as a correction or apology – before formal legal action is taken.
Wilson has previously accused MacInnes of lying when she denied being sexually harassed by a producer of The Deb, and that MacInnes accepted favours to change her story and conspired with The Deb’s producers to block the release of the film.
MacInnes has strenuously and repeatedly denied that she was a victim of sexual assault, prompting Wilson to accuse her on Instagram of lying in exchange for favours, such as landing the lead role in US stage production Gatsby and a record deal.
The concern notice outlines the harm caused to MacInnes, such as Wilson using her platform of 11 million Instagram followers to cause serious harm and reputational damage.
“This was her first lead role in a film and you cruelled her professional reputation before she could even enjoy the benefit of the success of the film as the lead actress,” stated the notice.
It continued: “The Publications cast Ms MacInnes in a particularly negative light, speaking as they do of her dishonesty and lack of trustworthiness, and being able to be bought corruptly in return for favourable benefits.”
The notice also stated: “The Publications were made to a vast audience despite you knowing that they were false on each occasion you made them. You exercised the power you had in the media and on Instagram at the expense of Ms MacInnes’ reputation.”
MacInnes is seeking general damages, aggravated damages and costs, as well as a permanent injunction to stop Wilson from publishing the defamatory statements about MacInnes or anything similar in the future.
Legal quagmire
The Deb, in which Wilson co-stars, shot in Australia in 2023 and is produced out of the UK by Unigram’s Amanda Ghost, Len Blavatnik and Gregor Cameron and sister company AI Film, in partnership with Rebel Wilson’s Camp Sugar Productions and Australian producer Bunya Productions. The comedy world premiered at Toronto in 2024, but has yet to have a theatrical release amid a swirl of legal dramas surrounding the film.
Wilson is currently the subject of an ongoing defamation case in California, with producers Ghost and Cameron and executive producer Vince Holden bringing the action last year after Wilson accused the producers of embezzling funds, sexually assaulting MacInnes and obstructing the film’s release.
There is a separate hearing also scheduled to take place tomorrow (August 8) in Australia at the Supreme Court of New South Wales as part of a commercial dispute between Wilson and the UK producers of The Deb, AI Films.
Wilson is accused of deliberately sabotaging the film’s release in Australia by kiboshing a deal with a distributor, causing the production company financial and reputational damage. That suit also claims Wilson’s motive was to devalue the production’s worth and pressure AI Film and Australian company Dunburn Debutantes Commissioning Company (DDCC – the entity managing the film’s rights and named as the second plaintiff in the lawsuit) into selling their stake to Wilson’s company Camp Sugar.
Screen has reached out to Wilson’s representative for comment.
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