It seems that Rebel Wilson and her team decided to prevent parts of her book “Rebel Rising” from hitting some shelves, perhaps to avoid a legal backlash from her former co-star Sacha Baron Cohen.
Weeks after the Australian star of “Pitch Perfect” and “Senior Year” published her memoir in the United States, HarperCollins reportedly confirmed that some copies of “Rebel Rising” will not include a controversial chapter about Wilson's experience working with Cohen on the 2016 comedy film “The Brothers Grimsby.” The chapter, reportedly titled “Sacha Baron Cohen and Other A—,” will be printed with black lines in copies sold in Australia and New Zealand, The Guardian reported Thursday.
“For legal reasons, we have redacted a chapter in the Australia and New Zealand edition and included an explanatory note accordingly,” a HarperCollins spokesperson said in a statement shared with several media outlets. “That chapter is a very small part of a much larger story and we are excited for readers to know Rebel's story when the book is published.”
Representatives for Wilson and HarpersCollins did not immediately respond to The Times' requests for comment on Thursday.
While promoting “Rebel Rising” in March, Wilson, 44, revealed that Cohen was the “big dick” who inspired a chapter in her book. In a now-expired Instagram Story, he accused the “Borat” star, 52, of hiring “expensive lawyers or public relations crisis managers” to threaten the release of the episode.
“The 'a—' I talk about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen,” he announced on the Instagram story.
In March, representatives for Cohen denied what they called Wilson's “demonstrably false claims” about his alleged behavior toward her on the set of “The Brothers Grimsby.” The statement cited “extensive and detailed evidence, including contemporary documents, film footage and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during and after the production of 'The Brothers Grimsby.'”
In an excerpt published by People in late March, Wilson writes about her co-star's alleged behavior, noting that he “mentioned that he wanted her to appear naked in a future scene,” despite his no-nudity clause. He also alleged that Cohen pitched a sexual joke for the film.
“The movie flopped, which was enough karma for me. “I don’t intend to cancel anyone and that is not my motivation for sharing this story,” she wrote. “I'm sharing my story now because the more women talk about things like this, I hope it happens less.”
Amid the growing feud between Wilson and Cohen, the releases of “Rebel Rising” in the United Kingdom and Australia suffered delays. At the time, HarperCollins reportedly said the release dates were “moved to coincide with Rebel Wilson's press tours.”
Readers in Australia and New Zealand are not the only ones missing Wilson's full account of Cohen's alleged behavior. The British versions of “Rebel Rising” will also include redaction of “most of a page,” “some other small redactions” and an “explanatory note,” HarperCollins told The Guardian.
In response to the “Rebel Rising” redactions, a spokesperson for Cohen alleged that “HarperCollins did not verify this chapter of the book before its publication and took the sensible but appallingly late step of removing Rebel Wilson's defamatory claims once it was brought to their attention.” They presented evidence that they were false.”
The statement, shared with The Times on Thursday, continues: “Printing falsehoods is illegal in the United Kingdom and Australia; This is not a “quirk” as Ms Wilson said, but a legal principle that has existed for many hundreds of years. “This is a clear victory for Sacha Baron Cohen and confirms what we said all along: that this is demonstrably false, in a disgraceful and failed effort to sell books.”
