As the explosive Australian legal battle over Rebel Wilson‘s directorial debut nears the finish line, the Pitch Perfect star has been forced to deny that she orchestrated a cyber attack on Charlotte MacInnes that led to a nude photo of The Deb actress being leaked.
MacInnes is suing Wilson for defamation in Sydney, arguing that the Bridesmaids star tarnished her reputation by claiming that she made, and then later walked back, a sexual harassment complaint against The Deb producer Amanda Ghost.
In her affidavit, MacInnes alleged that Wilson organized a hack of her Snapchat account, which led to a nude photo of the young actress being leaked to her contacts. MacInnes claimed that the cyber attack came days after she filed her defamation lawsuit last September.
“It was completely terrifying and caused me a new kind of anxiety. I was not myself for some time after,” she wrote, per a report by Australia’s NewsWire. “I believe that this was orchestrated by Rebel.”
In her final day in the witness box, Wilson attempted to shoot down the allegation under cross-examination from Sue Chrysanthou, MacInnes’ barrister. Asked if she was behind the hack, Wilson replied: “That is an absolutely outrageous statement to make in court that I moonlight as a hacker.”
“I didn’t say you hacked anyone,” Chrysanthou said, adding: “Did you arrange for anyone to hack her Snapchat shortly after you were sued by her?” Wilson responded: “Obviously not.”
Social Media “Attack”
She was also pressed over a post on The Deb‘s Instagram account, in which Wilson accused MacInnes of wearing a “culturally inappropriate Indian outfit” while singing on billionaire Len Blavatnik’s yacht at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
Chrysanthou told Wilson that it was not an Indian outfit, and questioned whether it was appropriate for a director to “attack” a young actress’ sartorial choices on social media.
“Using The Deb Instagram account to attack the person who is one of the lead actresses on your film, that was utterly unprofessional, wasn’t it?” Chrysanthou asked. Wilson replied: “I don’t classify it as an attack, I classify it as telling the truth.”
The same Instagram post went on to say that MacInnes was “ironically singing a song from a movie that will never get released because of her lies and support for the people blocking the film’s release.” Wilson has repeatedly claimed that MacInnes walked back her complaint about Ghost because it opened up career opportunities, including a role in a Gatsby stage show and a record deal.
“She changed her story, she flip-flopped, and she was given huge benefits,” Wilson told the Sydney court. Wilson added that she had “received no benefit” from going public with the allegations against Ghost and MacInnes. “All I have done is told the truth at significant cost to myself, at significant detriment,” Wilson continued, per Australian Associated Press.
At the heart of the case is a bathing incident in September 2023, weeks before The Deb‘s shoot in Australia. Wilson claims that MacInnes told her she was uncomfortable after sharing a bath with The Deb producer Ghost in the run-up to the film’s shoot.
MacInnes and Ghost do not deny they bathed together, but argue that they were wearing swimsuits and the encounter followed Ghost experiencing a medical episode on Bondi Beach. MacInnes has denied telling Wilson that the incident made her uncomfortable.
The case continues. Justice Elizabeth Raper is overseeing the trial.
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