Rebel Wilson’s autobiography release postponed amid Sacha Baron Cohen allegations
The release of Rebel Wilson‘s upcoming memoir, Rebel Rising, has been postponed in the United Kingdom and Australia amid allegations she made about the conduct of Sacha Baron Cohen.
The two actors worked together on The Brothers Grimsby in 2016, which she dedicates a whole chapter to discussing in the book. Last week, Wilson has claimed that Baron Cohen allegedly hired a PR team to prevent the publication of the memoir.
While the book hit the shelves on April 2nd in the United States, it was originally scheduled to be available for purchase on April 4th in the UK and Australia. However, that date has now been pushed back until April 25th.
In a statement, Wilson’s publisher, HarperCollins, maintains the reason for postponing the release in the aforementioned countries is to allow the publication date “to coincide with Rebel Wilson’s press tours”.
When first opening up about her experience working with Baron Cohen, Wilson stopped short of naming the comedian but later took to Instagram to reveal his identity, labelling him an “asshole” in the process.
As part of her allegations, Wilson likened Baron Cohen to a “fourth-grade bully who teases the fat girl on the playground and tries to make her life a living hell”.
Furthermore, in an interview with The Sunday Times, the Bridesmaids star claimed the costumes she wore in The Brothers Grimsby were picked specifically to “see all the cellulite on my thighs,” and her upper body garments were selected “to show the fattest part of my arm”. Wilson said this was “something to be laughed at and degraded because of my size.”
The Australian actor claimed these sartorial decisions were carried out with the aim of trying to “humiliate” her. Additionally, she said her time working with Baron Cohen was “the worst professional experience of my career”.
In an excerpt shared by People, from Rebel Rising, Wilson writes, “It felt like every time I’d speak to SBC, he’d mention that he wanted me to go naked in a future scene. I was like, ‘Ha, I don’t do nudity, Sacha.'”
The star then accused Baron Cohen of pulling his trousers down in front of her and saying, “very matter-of-factly,” that he wanted her to “stick [her] finger up [his] ass.”
“I was now scared. I wanted to get out of there, so I finally compromised: I slapped him on the ass and improvised a few lines as the character,” she added.
Baron Cohen has denied her claims. A representative, acting on behalf of the Borat star, stated: “While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence, including contemporaneous documents, film footage, and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby.”
Wilson is set to arrive in the United Kingdom later this month for a series of events to launch Rebel Rising. She will appear at Usher Hall in Edinburgh and The Opera House in Manchester before concluding the run at London’s Palladium on April 29th.
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