Rebel Wilson, Charlotte MacInnes court case: The Deb director says she doesn’t recall being sued in 2016
Actor Rebel Wilson has taken the stand again as her legal battle with Charlotte MacInnes continues.
Rebel Wilson told the Federal Court on Wednesday that she didn’t recall being sued by Daily Mail journalist Elizabeth Wilson in a separate defamation case in 2016.
On Wednesday, Wilson also insisted British movie producer and songwriter Amanda Ghost was involved in controlling the budget during the making of the film The Deb.
Wilson’s co-star in the film, Charlotte MacInnes, 26, is suing the Pitch Perfect star over a series of Instagram posts she alleges implies that she retracted a sexual harassment complaint against one of the film’s producers, Amanda Ghost.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“In February 2016 you called (former Daily Mail journalist) Elizabeth Wilson ‘scum’ or ‘total scum’ and said she harassed or verbally abused your grandmother and you said she’s an asshole,” said Sue Chrysanthou SC for MacInnes.
Wilson told the court she could not recall details around the matter, or being sued.
“My memory is that there was just a demands letter,” Wilson said in response.
“I just remember never going to court or anything and the matter settled.”
Wilson later said it was an innocent mistake in identifying the wrong woman named Elizabeth Wilson in 2016 and she subsequently offered an apology.
Disputed bath, budget
Later in the morning, Ms Chrysanthou suggested to Wilson it wasn’t correct that Ghost refused to hand over a budget for The Deb movie with regard to allegations that $900,000 was embezzled from it.
“Ms Ghost was not party to the budget discussions or the contract discussions was she?” said Ms Chrysanthou for MacInnes.
“She definitely was, she’s the chairwoman of (move production company) AI Film. She saw (British finance executive) Vince Holden as her employee so she was the boss in terms of talking about the budget,” replied Wilson.
The defamation case centres around a disputed sexual harassment complaint allegedly made by MacInnes to Wilson on September 6, 2023.
That was the day after MacInnes and Ghost shared a bath at a Bondi Beach apartment due to Ghost suffering an adverse medical reaction to a cold Pacific ocean swim.
MacInnes denies a sexual harassment complaint was made and alleges Wilson only raised the complaint after she fell out with movie producer Ghost and others about The Deb’s production and budget.
Wilson denies the September 2024 Instagram posts were defamatory and says it’s true that MacInnes made a verbal complaint to her on September 6, 2023, the day after the swim.
The Deb movie is a musical comedy that was released in April 2026 in Australian cinemas. It’s the directorial debut of Wilson, who co-stars in it alongside MacInnes.
MacInnes is seeking aggravated damages for the lowering of her professional reputation based on Wilson’s Instagram posts, as well as a court order preventing Wilson from repeating the allegedly defamatory claims online.
