Rebel Wilson wins defamation case: “It has tested me”
Rebel Wilson has officially been cleared of defamation accusations brought against her from the set of her own film, The Deb.
Charlotte MacInnes sued the Pitch Perfect actor for allegedly harming her reputation in Instagram posts in 2024 and 2025.
In the posts, Wilson accused the Australian actor of retracting her sexual harassment complaint against a film producer, Amanda Ghost, to further her career. MacInnes denied this claim.
Now, in a Sydney court on July 22nd, Justice Elizabeth Raper dismissed the case.
Raper stated that the imputation that MacInnes had changed her story about the incident was not defamatory. As a result, MacInnes was ordered to pay Wilson’s legal costs.
The dispute was centred on an event that took place on September 5th, 2023, when MacInnes and Ghost went swimming at Bondi Beach before going back to the Sydney apartment where they were staying.
Ghost had an allergic reaction to the cold water; subsequently, the pair got in the bath together to warm up, both in their swimsuits.
Wilson insisted that MacInnes told her a day later that the situation was uncomfortable, causing her to step back from that account. MacInnes denied making the complaint.
In making her decision, Raper remarked on the incident, sharing, “To say that the circumstances surrounding how they came to be in the bath are unusual would be an understatement.”
Raper also found that MacInnes had failed to establish that the posts had caused or were likely to cause serious harm; all she had proved was that the public knew she had changed her story of the incident, which is not necessarily defamatory.
In reaction to the decision, Wilson shared a statement on Instagram, which read in part, “It has tested me, but it has also reinforced something I’ve always believed.”
She went on, “I want to live my life standing up for what I believe is right, while continuing to create work that brings people joy.”
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