{"id":328828,"date":"2026-03-14T04:51:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T04:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/328828\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T04:51:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T04:51:12","slug":"rebel-wilsons-team-accused-of-smear-campaign-for-the-deb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/328828\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebel Wilson\u2019s Team Accused of Smear Campaign for \u2018The Deb\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1174ee0c6dc24b5fc3ee523b16961cadf3-rebel-wilson-2.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\" class=\"lede-image\" data-content-img=\"\" alt=\"The Serpentine Gallery Summer Party 2025 - Arrivals\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>\n                  Rebel Wilson.<br \/>\n                  Photo: Mike Marsland\/WireImage\/Getty Images\n              <\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmp7s965000i0idmtosqzu0d@published\" data-word-count=\"90\">It didn\u2019t end with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vulture.com\/article\/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-lawsuit-it-ends-with-us.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">It Ends With Us<\/a>. The same team behind Justin Baldoni\u2019s alleged smear campaign against Blake Lively is now being accused of using similar tactics against producer Amanda Ghost on behalf of their client Rebel Wilson. Ghost and Wilson worked together on the 2026 film The Deb, which has been mired in legal drama for two years now. In new leaked audio, Wilson\u2019s team, including digital fixer Jed Wallace, entertainment publicist Melissa Nathan, and her then-lawyer Bryan Freedman, can be heard developing ways to ruin Ghost\u2019s credibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmp7zwpp00103b7cdlr1aqpz@published\" data-word-count=\"26\">To get caught up on all ins and outs, below, find an explainer of what is going on with the big drama surrounding a little movie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmp82fr3002b3b7c2ng7uj8x@published\" data-word-count=\"59\">The Deb is a musical film that will be released this April in Australia. Directed by Rebel Wilson, it is an adaptation of an Australian stage show of the same name. It has been surrounded by torrential controversy since its premiere two years ago at Toronto International Film Festival and has yet to be released in the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmp84kcb002j3b7cpooi9sw1@published\" data-word-count=\"106\">In July 2024, Rebel Wilson<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/C9Pn4JIufSs\/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> posted a video<\/a> accusing the film\u2019s producers, including Amanda Ghost, Gregory Cameron, and Vince Holden, of blocking The Deb from premiering at TIFF. \u201cWhy are they saying this?\u201d Wilson said. \u201cWhy are they stopping it from premiering at Toronto? Well, this dates back to October of last year, where I discovered bad behavior by these business partners \u2026 inappropriate behavior toward the lead actress of the film; embezzling funds from the film\u2019s budget, which we really needed because we\u2019re a small movie.\u201d Ultimately, despite the behind-the-scenes issues, the musical was still <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2024\/07\/rebel-wilson-deb-ben-stiller-nutcrackers-tiff-1236011475\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">selected as TIFF\u2019s closing-night feature<\/a> and premiered at the festival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmp89fty002r3b7cwhrh8vcl@published\" data-word-count=\"120\">In response to Wilson\u2019s video, the producers said that \u201cRW\u2019s allegations are false, defamatory, and disappointing.\u201d Two days after the video was posted, the producers sued Wilson for defamation in a suit that claimed Wilson deserted the film for weeks at a time and attempted to take a writing credit from screenwriter Hannah Reilly, which would go against the decision of the Australian Writers Guild, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/the-deb-producers-file-defamation-lawsuit-rebel-wilson-sexual-harassment-embezzlement-claims-1235947766\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>. Wilson was instead set to receive an \u201cadditional writing by\u201d credit. Wilson then countersued and accused Ghost of sexually harassing the film\u2019s star Charlotte MacInnes, saying she \u201cforced MacInnes to live in her Bondi Beach penthouse apartment with her,\u201d according to THR, and \u201ctook a shower and a bath with MacInnes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmpdmfl7000f3b7cf60z0i31@published\" data-word-count=\"130\">By May 2025, Wilson had gone rogue. When MacInnes, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2024\/nov\/11\/rebel-wilson-charlotte-macinnes-defamation-trial-sexual-assault-accusation-ntwnfb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">denied in court that Ghost sexually harassed her<\/a>, attended the Cannes Film Festival and was seen on a yacht, Wilson took to The Deb Instagram account to post disparaging comments about her star. \u201cCharlotte MacInnes in a culturally inappropriate Indian outfit on Len Blavatnik\u2019s luxury yacht in Cannes \u2014 ironically singing a song from a movie that will never get released because of her lies and support for the people blocking the film\u2019s release,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/au.variety.com\/2025\/film\/news\/rebel-wilson-escalates-deb-producers-battle-cannes-party-22817\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wilson wrote<\/a>, per Variety Australia. \u201cSo glad you got your record deal Charlotte at the expense of the 300 people who worked on The Deb and really wanna see it released,\u201d she added in another post. She also continued to claim that Ghost sexually harassed MacInnes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmpdmgbw000n3b7c9gqh4b5v@published\" data-word-count=\"104\">\u201cSince the beginning, this dispute has been about one thing and one thing only: Rebel Wilson\u2019s obsession with taking credit where none is deserved, at the great expense of young, talented women, whom she tears down, all the while, masquerading to be their champion,\u201d the producers\u2019 attorney Camille Vasquez said in a statement to <a href=\"https:\/\/au.variety.com\/2025\/film\/news\/rebel-wilson-escalates-deb-producers-battle-cannes-party-22817\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Variety Australia<\/a>. That August, MacInnes sued Wilson for defamation too, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/culture\/movies\/star-of-troubled-film-the-deb-claims-rebel-wilson-defamed-her-20250808-p5mlcl.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sydney Morning Herald<\/a> reported. \u201cThis was her first lead role in a film and you cruelled her professional reputation before she could even enjoy the benefit of the success of the film as the lead actress,\u201d MacInnes\u2019s lawyer wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmpdmgbx000o3b7cjsq49otn@published\" data-word-count=\"97\">Additionally, Ghost and Holden\u2019s company, AI Films, sued Wilson separately in Australia, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2025\/jul\/25\/australian-actor-rebel-wilson-sued-by-production-company-behind-her-own-film\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Guardian<\/a>. The suit claimed that Wilson intentionally blocked the sale of The Deb in hopes of devaluing Wilson\u2019s company, Camp Sugar, to the point where AI Films would sell its stake. \u201cAs the producer, director, and co-star who nurtured a project called The Deb for three years from a three-page idea into a gorgeous feature film,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/if.com.au\/it-makes-no-sense-rebel-wilson-hits-back-amid-fresh-lawsuit-surrounding-the-deb\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wilson responded on Instagram<\/a>, \u201cI want nothing more than to have this film released and have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to get this to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmpdmob4000v3b7ctyl3l7ya@published\" data-word-count=\"135\">In the alleged audio, intended to paint producer Amanda Ghost as a sex trafficker, fixer Jed Wallace is speaking to publicist Melissa Nathan, who works for the Agency Group, and refers to Wilson\u2019s lawyer Bryan Freedman, a powerful lawyer. \u201cWhat we need to do is create a path where we expose Amanda Ghost as the new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vulture.com\/2011\/07\/heidi-fleiss-prostitutes-to-parrots.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Heidi Fleiss<\/a>,\u201d Wallace says in the alleged recording. \u201cThe reason why she sucks so bad at music is that she\u2019s actually getting hookers for [Warner Music owner Len] Blavatnik. And that\u2019s what she does; she\u2019s an absolute madame, and that\u2019s why she\u2019s so lethal, blah blah blah.\u201d In the audio, he adds that \u201cWe can\u2019t just do, like, \u2018Oh, she\u2019s a bitch, she sucks.\u2019 It\u2019s, like, it\u2019s got to be really, really heavy and connected to something that heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmpdmtdu00133b7cddpmxcnf@published\" data-word-count=\"70\">\u201cRebel Wilson has repeatedly denied any involvement in the creation of the smear websites \u2014 not just on television but in her sworn legal testimony,\u201d Ghost\u2019s lawyer Vasquez said in a statement to THR. \u201cWe, however, had long suspected that she not only contributed to the malicious sites but that she was the driving force behind them. The evidence we have submitted to the court in California supports that conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmpdmwc1001a3b7c53oxptzs@published\" data-word-count=\"66\">The since-deleted site in question was called \u201cAmanda Ghost Is a Destroyer of Worlds.\u201d \u201cFailing in music she turned full pimp, reinventing herself as a theatrical producer alongside her husband while really procuring young women for the pleasure of the extremely wealthy,\u201d the site read. This follows suit with claims Camp Sugar allegedly sent to the Agency Group that referred to Ghost as \u201cIndian Ghislaine Maxwell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmpdmzbv001h3b7c79la22k2@published\" data-word-count=\"140\">One of the signature features of the It Ends With Us case is the alleged smear campaign that Justin Baldoni ran against Blake Lively, which was exposed in a December 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/21\/business\/media\/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-it-ends-with-us.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Times<\/a> report. Many of the names on Wilson\u2019s team are associated with Baldoni\u2019s side, including Nathan, who is quoted in the Times expos\u00e9 as saying, \u201cYou know we can bury anyone.\u201d Jed Nathan and Bryan Freedman are also quoted in that Times piece. Ghost\u2019s team is intentionally drawing the connection between their alleged techniques on the It Ends With Us case and what they may have potentially done for Wilson against Ghost. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vulture.com\/article\/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-lawsuit-it-ends-with-us.html#lawsuits\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Baldoni did end up suing the New York Times<\/a> over the reporting done around the alleged smear campaign, but the case was dismissed in June 2025. It never ends with It Ends With Us, huh?<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/cmmpdnoud001x3b7cpk6d1ttb@published\" data-word-count=\"12\">Neither Wilson nor her team have yet commented on the surfaced audio.<\/p>\n<p>          Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n<p>An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n<p>        Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n<p class=\"expanded-terms \" aria-hidden=\"true\">By submitting your email, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/nymag.com\/newyork\/terms\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Terms<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/nymag.com\/newyork\/privacy\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Notice<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us.<\/p>\n<p>  Related<\/p>\n<p>    <script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rebel Wilson. Photo: Mike Marsland\/WireImage\/Getty Images It didn\u2019t end with It Ends With Us. The same team behind&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328829,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[3782,156880,430,156,593,176874,176873,33070,176872,176875,409,111,43,139,69,3781,36677,15268],"class_list":["post-328828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-amanda-ghost","tag-bryan-freedman","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-film","tag-jed-wallace","tag-leaked-audio","tag-leaks","tag-legal-matters","tag-movie-musicals","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rebel-wilson","tag-the-deb","tag-the-law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}