\n<\/p>\n
\n\tRebel Wilson\u2018s legal battle with Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actress in her directorial debut The Deb<\/em>, will get underway in Australia next week \u2014 and it will be live-streamed on YouTube. <\/p>\n \n\tMacInnes is suing Wilson in the New South Wales branch of the Federal Court of Australia. She claims that the Pitch Perfect<\/em> star damaged her reputation by alleging that she was sexually harassed by The Deb<\/em> producer Amanda Ghost, and then colluded with Ghost to cover up what took place.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tA hearing is scheduled for Monday, April 20, at 10.15 AM local time. In a listing, the Federal Court of Australia said the hearing would be streamed on the court\u2019s YouTube channel to \u201censure open justice.\u201d It is not clear whether Wilson or MacInnes will attend.<\/p>\n \n\tThe row burst into the open in summer 2024 when\u00a0The Deb<\/em>\u00a0was selected to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Fearing the premiere would be scuppered, Wilson posted a video on Instagram in which she accused The Deb <\/em>producers of \u201cinappropriate behaviour towards the lead actress.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tWilson\u2019s position is that Ghost abused her power and made MacInnes uncomfortable by sharing a bath with the actress when they were staying in a Sydney apartment in September 2023. Ghost and MacInnes do not deny that they bathed together, but both say it was a non-sexual encounter after Ghost experienced a medical incident. MacInnes denies that the incident made her uncomfortable.<\/p>\n \n\tThe event is at the heart of a sprawling legal battle, playing out across different fronts in Los Angeles and Australia, overshadowing The Deb<\/em>, a feel-good movie about outback teens attending a debutante ball. The film was finally released in Australia earlier this month, but it does not yet have a distributor in the U.S.<\/p>\n \n\tIn California, Wilson is attempting to overturn a lower court ruling rejecting her anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by The Deb\u2019s<\/em> British producers, Ghost, her husband Gregor Cameron, and Vince Holden. They allege Wilson is a liar and a bully who has smeared them after being denied a writing credit on\u00a0The Deb<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tDuring an appeal hearing this week, Wilson\u2019s attorney Allyson Thompson reportedly attempted to downplay the actress\u2019s Instagram video. A report by the Courthouse News Service said Thompson described the video as being posted in a \u201cheated moment,\u201d and that her allegations were hyperbolic, vague, and not verifiable assertions of fact.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen is the last time you took a bath or shower with your boss?\u201d Thompson reportedly said. \u201cMy client found that to be inappropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n