{"id":624940,"date":"2026-04-23T03:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/624940\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T03:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:54:12","slug":"text-messages-between-wilson-and-charlotte-macinnes-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/624940\/","title":{"rendered":"Text messages between Wilson and Charlotte MacInnes revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Michaela<\/p>\n

April 23, 2026 \u2014 11:50am<\/p>\n

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Hollywood star Rebel Wilson told a young actor she had been \u201cterribly rude\u201d in text messages revealed in court during a high-stakes defamation fight.<\/p>\n

Charlotte MacInnes, who plays the lead role in Australian musical film The Deb, directed and co-produced by Wilson, is suing the Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids actor for defamation over a series of social media posts. The trial started in the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday.<\/p>\n

\"TextText messages between Rebel Wilson and Charlotte MacInnes were tendered in the Federal Court.Matt Willis, Sitthixay Ditthavong, Audrey Richardson.<\/p>\n

Text messages shown in court on Thursday reveal some tension in May 2023 between the two performers at the start of their working relationship.<\/p>\n

The court heard Wilson had secured a ticket for MacInnes to watch the production Oklahoma! at Wyndham\u2019s Theatre on London\u2019s West End with her and some cast mates but MacInnes texted Wilson after the event to offer \u201chuge apologies\u201d because she \u201clost track of time\u201d.<\/p>\n

MacInnes said she had \u201c[ended] up eating with Amanda\u201d Ghost, a producer of The Deb who has emerged as a central figure in the defamation case, and Ghost\u2019s assistant Pia Ashcroft.<\/p>\n

\u2018Not a great start\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHi Charlotte. I appreciate the apology. In the future, it is terribly rude to say you wanted a ticket to a show and then you don\u2019t reply or follow up knowing a ticket has been purchased for you,\u201d Wilson replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a great start to our working relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacInnes responded: \u201cCompletely understand. Again, hugely sorry for my poor communication. I\u2019d love to send you the money for the ticket as you stuck to your word and got an available ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said Wilson had been \u201cnothing short of wonderful\u201d and she and others \u201cdeserve the same respect and communication\u201d.<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s barrister, Dauid Sibtain, SC, put to MacInnes that she was \u201cquite happy to effectively ditch your other co-lead actresses and the director [Wilson] for the possibility of another one-on-one meeting with Ms Ghost\u201d. MacInnes disagreed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The lawsuit<\/p>\n

More than two years later, in September 2025, MacInnes launched a Federal Court defamation suit against Wilson over a series of four Instagram stories, posted between September 2024 and May last year, that made claims about the young star and Ghost.<\/p>\n

Wilson alleged in one of the stories that MacInnes made \u201ca complaint to me as director\u201d that Ghost \u201casked her to have a bath and shower with her and it made her feel uncomfortable\u201d. MacInnes denies that conversation happened. Neither woman was named in that story, but surrounding posts contained identifying information.<\/p>\n

MacInnes\u2019 boyfriend, actor Carlo Boumouglbay, is among supporters who have told the court the posts took a huge toll on MacInnes.<\/p>\n

\"CharlotteCharlotte MacInnes arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday with her boyfriend Carlo Boumouglbay.Audrey Richardson<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was horrible for Charlotte that Rebel was lying about her being a victim,\u201d he said in an affidavit.<\/p>\n

At the time of the alleged complaint in September 2023, MacInnes was living with Ghost and the producer\u2019s assistant at a rented Bondi penthouse apartment during rehearsals for The Deb.<\/p>\n

MacInnes is not suing for defamation over Wilson\u2019s allegation that she made a complaint, but a further allegation by Wilson that the rising star recanted the alleged complaint in return for further career opportunities allegedly set up by Ghost, namely a lead role in a stage production and a record label.<\/p>\n

MacInnes gave evidence on Thursday that the incident involving the bath, on September 5, 2023, was a medical episode. Ghost had a reaction to the cold water after swimming with MacInnes at Bondi Beach and the actor assisted the producer to warm up, she said. At one stage both women, wearing their swimmers, shared a bath.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe penthouse bathroom in the defamation case, as shown in a Sotheby\u2019s real estate listing.Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n

Sibtain put to MacInnes that it was a \u201cpretty regular-sized bath\u201d, and tendered a photo of the bathroom in the Campbell Parade penthouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d describe it as a large bath,\u201d MacInnes said.<\/p>\n

The actor gave evidence she went for another swim with Ghost \u201cthe day after, or two days after\u201d the incident, but said \u201cAmanda did not have a reaction that next swim, though\u201d.<\/p>\n

MacInnes agreed under questioning by Sibtain that she ran a bath for Ghost to warm up.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe got in the bath first, and then you got in the bath,\u201d Sibtain said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d MacInnes replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the reason you got in the bath was because she invited you to get in the bath,\u201d Sitbain said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d MacInnes said.<\/p>\n

Wilson \u2018not a whistleblower\u2019<\/p>\n

MacInnes\u2019 barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, SC, alleged in her opening address to the court that Wilson \u201cwas not a whistleblower \u2026 seeking to protect a young actress\u201d and had only claimed when it \u201csuited\u201d her that MacInnes was \u201ca victim\u201d.<\/p>\n

MacInnes \u201cdid not make \u2018a complaint\u2019 to Wilson \u2026 as alleged\u201d in the posts, her legal team says in court documents.<\/p>\n

Wilson has denied making the claims to further her commercial interests amid a dispute with the film\u2019s co-producers, including Ghost.<\/p>\n

The Hollywood actor is seeking to rely chiefly on the defence of truth.<\/p>\n

\u2018Strange\u2019 or \u2018bizarre\u2019 situation<\/p>\n

MacInnes rejected Sibtain\u2019s suggestion on Thursday that she told Wilson on September 6, 2023, the day after the Bondi incident: \u201cAmanda asked me to have a bath and a shower with her and it made me feel uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never said those words. I never made a complaint to Ms Wilson,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But she agreed they had spoken that day, and that the next day Wilson called her in her capacity as director to check in with her. MacInnes agreed that in that call she told Wilson something like the situation was \u201cstrange\u201d or \u201cbizarre\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t recall saying those words specifically, but I may have,\u201d MacInnes said.<\/p>\n

Asked if she had also told Wilson she had not felt \u201cpersonally uncomfortable\u201d, MacInnes said: \u201cI don\u2019t recall.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she \u201cdidn\u2019t walk back anything\u201d and had not made a complaint.<\/p>\n

Wilson texted Ghost on September 7: \u201cCharlotte says all good. She just meant \u2018it was a bizarre situation\u2019 not that she personally felt uncomfortable x.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacInnes agreed with Sibtain\u2019s suggestion that she was \u201cvery distressed about the fact that Amanda was keeping her distance\u201d from her after the incident.<\/p>\n

On September 20, she had a conversation with Ghost. MacInnes agreed with Sibtain\u2019s suggestion that she felt she had \u201cbetter clear the air\u201d with the producer, or she might have \u201csome real problems\u201d.<\/p>\n

Career opportunities<\/p>\n

MacInnes was questioned at length by Sibtain about the circumstances in which she got a record deal with Atlantic Records and a lead role in the stage production Gatsby: An American Myth, co-produced by Ghost.<\/p>\n

Sibtain put to MacInnes that Ghost had provided her with \u201cquite a lot of help \u2026 to get through the audition process\u201d for Gatsby.<\/p>\n

\"RebelRebel Wilson outside the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday.Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree that it was a lot of help,\u201d MacInnes said, after Justice Elizabeth Raper asked her to answer the question directly.<\/p>\n

Sibtain took MacInnes to information Ghost sent MacInnes that was described as \u201csuper confidential\u201d: the audition tape of an actor who didn\u2019t get the role.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was encouraging you to be more dramatic,\u201d Sibtain said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d MacInnes said.<\/p>\n

She agreed that, in another message, Ghost was encouraging her to audition for the role even though she would be up against the world\u2019s best performers.<\/p>\n

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