Three producers of Rebel Wilson's musical comedy film “The Deb” are suing the Australian actress for defamation after she accused them on social media of conspiring to sabotage the movie.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden and was reviewed by The Times.
“Rebel is a bully who ignores the interests of others to advance her own,” the suit says. It adds: “Rebel attempted to bully Plaintiffs into giving her what she wanted by leveraging her personality and platform, with many millions of followers, to spread malicious lies about Plaintiffs.”
The legal documents detail a dispute over writing credits for “The Deb,” which was adapted from a Hannah Reilly play with music by Reilly and Megan Washington. Wilson’s production company, Sugar Productions, had acquired the rights but needed the producers’ support to move forward, the suit says. The plaintiffs allege Wilson’s unprofessional behavior included walking away from the project for extended periods and making “unauthorized and improper disclosures about the film.”
The dispute escalated, the documents say, when Wilson wanted to take credit for the writing instead of Reilly, a young writer who had received a scholarship from Wilson. The Writers Guild of Australia had already ruled, in a “binding agreement,” that credit should go to Reilly, the suit says.
Wilson also allegedly demanded credit for the music and insisted on the participation of outside musical groups, something the producers were unable to provide.
The suit says Wilson at the time “revived a fictional story about Ms. Ghost sexually harassing a lead actor in ‘The Deb’ that has absolutely no basis in reality, as the actor who is the subject of this defamatory story has repeatedly confirmed. Furthermore, Rebel claimed, without any basis, that Ms. Ghost and Mr. Cameron were embezzling the film’s budget.”
Approximately $22 million has been invested in “The Deb,” which was scheduled to be released at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival this fall, the lawsuit says.[A]All the work was almost finished and was on track to be a resounding success despite Rebel’s sabotage efforts.”
Still, according to the plaintiffs, Wilson's attempts to interfere with the film's marketing and his dissemination of false statements through social media jeopardized the film's release. The producers say they attempted to resolve the disputes in good faith, but consider Wilson's actions to have been a deliberate effort to damage their reputation.
The film was selected last week to premiere on TIFF 2024's closing night Sept. 15, “but Plaintiffs had to carefully consider whether to continue marketing the film while it was embroiled in numerous credit and licensing disputes instigated by Rebel,” the documents say.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs characterized Wilson as someone who had “falsely accused a fellow actor of inappropriate behavior in order to publicize her book,” “Rebel Rising,” which was released in the United States in April.
Attorneys for Wilson and the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to The Times' requests for comment Friday.
In her video Wednesday, Wilson said producers tried to sabotage the film and refused to let it be released, something she called “vile and disgusting behavior.”
Ghost, Cameron and Holden are seeking actual damages “based on the evidence,” the suit says.
