Court hears Rebel Wilson spoke to actor Charlotte MacInnes about shared bath time complaint

British movie producer Amanda Ghost was so angry at Australian actress Charlotte MacInnes for making a complaint about a bath the two shared she asked her to move out of their shared Bondi Beach apartment within days, the Federal Court heard on Tuesday.

Theatrical producer Carmen Pavlovic told the court on Tuesday that herself and Ms Ghost had dined at Bondi’s Icebergs Dining Room days after the bath incident.

Ms Pavlovic testified Ms Ghost had expressed her anger over the dinner at MacInnes for allegedly complaining she felt uncomfortable about the shared bath to Rebel Wilson.

MacInnes, 25, a West Australian actor, is suing Wilson for a series of Instagram posts by the movie star suggesting she complained about sharing a bath with Ghost after an ocean swim on September 5, 2023.

Wilson is defending the claim and alleges the young actress changed her story to get a record deal and role in another of Ghost’s productions.

MacInnes alleged to be trouble-making

At the September 14 dinner, Bondi-based Ms Pavlovic said Ms Ghost had been “very upset” about the alleged complaint and believed MacInnes might be “trouble-making” for unspecified reasons.

“She [Ghost] told me [at the dinner] that subsequent [to the bath] Rebel had called her and said that Charlotte [MacInnes] had made a comment to the effect she felt uncomfortable when Amanda [Ghost] had allegedly asked her to get in the bath,” Ms Pavlovic told the court.

“Amanda [Ghost] told me she was shocked by [MacInnes’] comment and asked Rebel [Wilson] to go back and clarify the comment and Rebel had subsequently it was all fine.”

The dispute over the early evening bath arose during the production of The Deb movie. It’s Wilson’s directorial debut, where MacInnes was cast in a leading role.

Wilson is defending the action and says McInnes verbally complained to her about the bath on September 6, when the two actors were in a recording studio.

The day after the Icebergs dinner Ms Pavlovic said she was worried the situation around the alleged complaint “could spiral” as a workplace incident or complaint that needed to be investigated independently.

This may include the need for someone to speak to MacInnes independently about whether there had been a misunderstanding or other scenarios, Ms Pavlovic said.

“So I called her [Ghost] the next day [after the dinner] and I spoke to the head of HR in my own company to see if she had any advice for Amanda [Ghost],” said Ms Pavlovic.

According to Ms Pavlovic, the young actor was told by Ms Ghost she was required to stop living at the apartment as Wilson, or her partner may need to stay there for some time.

MacInnes is seeking aggravated damages for the lowering of her reputation based on Wilson’s Instagram posts, as well as a court order preventing Wilson from repeating the allegedly defamatory claims online.

Wilson accepts in her defence that she uploaded a series of posts which were available to her 11 million followers for 24 hours, but denies that two of the posts were about MacInnes.

Wilson described as ‘f**king nuts’ in texts from crisis PR firm

Earlier in the morning the Federal Court heard that Wilson allegedly hired The Agency Group (TAG) in Los Angeles to assist her in a legal dispute with Ms Ghost.

The Bridesmaids star was described as “f**king nuts” in text messages read out in court between staff at TAG.

Wilson is accused of ordering the firm to create an attack website against Ms Ghost, with the site amandaghostsucks.com posting allegations that the producer was a sex trafficker, according to court documents.

Wilson’s lawyer Dauid Sibtain SC claimed in court on Monday that the “websites are a distraction”.

“The critical issue is that MacInnes did in fact make a complaint to Wilson. She did. And then realising, understanding that that would be fatal to her career if she maintained that complaint, she withdrew it … and she denied that she ever made it,” Mr Sibtain told the court.

Wilson and MacInnes to front witness box

A relaxed MacInnes attended court for the second day in a row flanked by her WA-based parents, theatrical friends, and London-based actor partner for the second day in a row on Tuesday.

The trial is expected to last around two weeks with McInnes tipped to give witness testimony by Thursday and Wilson next week.

Ms Ghost is a hit song writer and former President of Epic Records. She was a producer and financier for The Deb and is involved in separate legal fight with Wilson.

The Deb movie was released in Australia in April to positive reviews. It’s a musical comedy about a debutante ball in a rural New South Wales town.

Both sides of the Federal Court dispute have blamed each other for long delays to the movie’s release.