Rebel Wilson responds to being sued by production company behind her new movie
Actor Rebel Wilson is once again being sued, this time by the production company behind her directorial debut, The Deb. She has slammed this decision as “spiteful, toxic behaviour.”
Her legal issues began back in 2024, after Wilson made her directorial debut, The Deb, a musical film based on the stage show of the same name. However, before it eventually premiered as the closing film of that year’s Toronto International Film Festival on September 15th, she took to Instagram on July 31st, calling out producers Amanda Ghost, her husband, Gregor Cameron, and executive producer Vince Holden.
Wilson claimed the trio had embezzled funds from the independent feature and attempted to “bury” the movie.
Later, in early August, the trio filed a defamation lawsuit in California, alleging the Pitch Perfect actor had behaved unprofessionally on the set of The Deb, including leaving for many hours at a time and threatening those who had funded it to “expose” them to her millions of followers on social media. A lawyer responsible for filing the lawsuit stated, “Rebel is a bully who will disregard the interests of others to promote her own.”
Now, the legal drama has reached Australia. UK-based company AI Film, represented by Australian legal firm Giles George and high-profile barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC, accused the Australian actor of deliberately sabotaging the film’s release. According to them, her threats and defamatory claims had caused financial and reputational damage to the production company.
They allege that Wilson’s motive was to devalue the production’s worth and pressure AI Film and Australian company Dunburn Debutantes Commissioning Company into selling their stake to Wilson’s company Camp Sugar. According to the ongoing lawsuits, Wilson was delaying the film’s release so that she could pursue the “business opportunity” of buying all rights to the film.
After filing the lawsuit, AI Film stated, “These proceedings are regrettable but essential to ensure The Deb’s timely release. It’s a joyous, fun film, and we are sure that audiences are going to love it.”
Wilson took to Instagram Stories to share her reaction. She began with her disbelief at the situation: “As the director, producer, and co-star who nurtured a project called ‘The Deb’ for five years from a three-page idea into a gorgeous feature film, I want nothing more than to have this film released and have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to make it happen. To say otherwise is complete nonsense. I’m so proud of the film!”
She continued, “In my opinion this is continued bullying and harassment from UK financiers of the project Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden after I exposed their dodgy behaviour. They tried to prevent the film from premiering there (they lost) and now they’ve tried to stop the film being released because of a baseless US lawsuit and now a further Australian one.”
She also called the situation “so sad,” as “contractually as financiers they have the power to sell or release/ distribute the film. They haven’t done so. It’s been a year since the film has been completed and ready to go in cinemas. Instead, in my opinion they have continued this spiteful toxic behaviour. new musical film.”
Despite the colossal headache she now faces, Wilson says she does not regret speaking up. She wrote: “What would you do if you were me, a first-time female director, and a young cast member says she’s living with a producer and had a bath and shower with them and that she feels uncomfortable?”
The actor added: “What would you do if crew told you they were stealing money from the independent film’s really tight budget? I reported both things. I’d do the same again. I believe in a safe and inclusive workplace.”
Wilson spoke of her “heavy heart” when looking back at the project, though she is now directing her second movie. She insisted that everybody knows she is a “truth teller,” who is adamant on exposing “vile people in the industry.”
She then shared the opening song from her new musical The Deb, ‘Fuck my life.’ The song includes the lyrics, “My skin is rank, my dad’s yacht sank, our dog’s a skank, I’m just so over it.”
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