{"id":553547,"date":"2026-07-22T06:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T06:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/553547\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T06:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T06:08:12","slug":"rebel-wilson-wins-defamation-case-brought-by-co-star-after-bitter-dispute-australia-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/553547\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebel Wilson wins defamation case brought by co-star after bitter dispute | Australia news"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a blistering dispute that spanned continents and years, Hollywood A-lister Rebel Wilson<\/a> has been found not to have defamed her co-star in a series of social media posts.<\/p>\n

The Pitch Perfect star was sued by Australian actor Charlotte MacInnes, who played the lead role in Wilson\u2019s directorial debut film The Deb.<\/p>\n

After the verdict on Wednesday, Wilson thanked the judge and the Australian legal system, saying the process had tested her and reinforced her belief in \u201cstanding up for what I believe is right, while continuing to create work that brings people joy\u201d.<\/p>\n

MacInnes claimed Wilson defamed her in a series of social media posts that implied she was a liar and a sellout who walked back a sexual harassment complaint to further her career.<\/p>\n

The posts alleged the young actor confided in Wilson \u2013 and later recanted \u2013 that she felt uncomfortable when the film\u2019s co-producer Amanda Ghost asked to have a shower and a bath together.<\/p>\n

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MacInnes denied making or retracting a complaint, insisting she had not been uncomfortable when the pair shared a bath in their swimwear after Ghost suffered a medical episode in September 2023.<\/p>\n

Two months after the conclusion of the hotly contested court battle in the federal court, justice Elizabeth Raper found in favour of Wilson.<\/p>\n

\u201cMacInnes has failed to establish that the publications have caused or were likely to cause serious harm,\u201d she said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

MacInnes\u2019 barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, accused Wilson of a \u201ccomplete revision of history\u201d littered with dishonesty during her emphatic closing address in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is a fantastical liar<\/a> who has made up terrible, terrible allegations about multiple people and her own witnesses have discredited her,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe say Ms Wilson cannot be believed on anything she has said.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Wilson repeatedly denied accusations she fabricated the complaint or raised it for leverage during disputes with her co-producers over the film\u2019s budget and writing credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am known as a truth-teller,\u201d she declared during the hearing.<\/p>\n

That was what she had been doing when she posted the stories to her 11 million social media followers, the Bridesmaids star said. \u201cI don\u2019t classify it as an attack, I classify it as telling the truth,\u201d she told the court.<\/p>\n

Her barrister, Dauid Sibtain SC, said his client had \u201cno motive to lie\u201d about something that would endanger her film by driving a wedge between her lead actor and a producer.<\/p>\n

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Instead, he accused MacInnes of dishonestly withdrawing the complaint about Ghost to ensure her relationship with the producer continued to be fruitful.<\/p>\n

MacInnes had received a lead role in a stage production and a six-figure record deal that were linked to Ghost, he argued, and she wanted to ensure she continued to rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cMacInnes is someone who gave false evidence under oath,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[She] has suffered no harm, let alone serious harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young actor sought aggravated damages for the harm allegedly caused by the posts, including anxiety and a period without work.<\/p>\n

In a social media post published after the verdict, Wilson said directing Australian music comedy The Deb was her \u201cdream job\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The Deb] was my dream job \u2026 my directorial debut, a celebration of Australian stories, and something I poured years of passion into alongside an incredible cast and crew. Seeing that journey disrupted has been incredibly difficult, but I have always believed it was a story worth telling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis process has taught me a lot. It has tested me, but it has also reinforced something I\u2019ve always believed. I want to live my life standing up for what I believe is right, while continuing to create work that brings people joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to everyone who has supported me. I\u2019m grateful this chapter has reached its conclusion and I\u2019m looking forward to getting back to what I love most, my family and my work. Thank you to the Judge and the Australian legal system who I have the utmost respect for\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a blistering dispute that spanned continents and years, Hollywood A-lister Rebel Wilson has been found not to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[458,146,85,46],"class_list":["post-553547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}