Rebel Wilson’s Directorial Debut Takes a New Turn

The legal battle surrounding Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut, ‘The Deb’, has taken a dramatic turn as the film’s star, Charlotte MacInnes, has filed an appeal against the court’s recent ruling in favor of Wilson.

The Federal Court of Australia had previously ruled that Wilson did not defame MacInnes in a series of social media posts from July 2024. MacInnes had claimed that Wilson damaged her reputation by alleging that she was sexually harassed by ‘The Deb’ producer Amanda Ghost, and then walked back her claims to benefit her career.

However, MacInnes’ legal team has now filed an eight-page appeal, arguing that the judge, Justice Elizabeth Raper, ‘erred’ in reaching her conclusions. The filing also goes on the attack against Wilson, accusing her of giving ‘false evidence’ and ‘destroying, concealing or otherwise failing to produce relevant documents.’

The appeal also accuses Justice Raper of failing to take proper account of Wilson’s role in a so-called ‘smear website’, which made incendiary allegations about Ghost being the ‘Indian Ghislaine Maxwell’. Wilson has denied any involvement in the website.

At the heart of the case is an incident in September 2023, when Ghost shared a bath with MacInnes in a Sydney apartment after they had been swimming on Bondi beach. Ghost and MacInnes do not deny that they bathed together, but both say it was a non-sexual encounter, during which they were wearing swimsuits, after Ghost experienced a medical incident.

Wilson claimed that MacInnes told her that the incident made the young actress uncomfortable. Wilson further alleged that MacInnes later withdrew her complaint after being given career opportunities by Ghost. MacInnes denied that the incident made her uncomfortable, suing Wilson over four Instagram posts, in which the ‘Bridesmaids’ star discussed the events.

Justice Raper agreed with Wilson, ruling that ‘MacInnes changed her story about feeling uncomfortable about what happened in the bathroom’. The judge added that Wilson’s social media posts about MacInnes were not defamatory ‘by reason of these findings.’

As well as the proceedings in Australia, ‘The Deb’s producers are suing Wilson in the Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing the ‘Pitch Perfect’ star of pursuing an unjustified vendetta after being denied a writing credit on ‘The Deb.’

Key Points in the Appeal

• MacInnes’ legal team argues that Justice Raper ‘erred’ in reaching her conclusions.
• The appeal accuses Wilson of giving ‘false evidence’ and ‘destroying, concealing or otherwise failing to produce relevant documents.’
• The appeal also accuses Justice Raper of failing to take proper account of Wilson’s role in a ‘smear website’.