Rebel Wilson, a Hollywood star, has successfully defended claims she defamed a young actress who played the lead role in her directorial debut. An Australian judge dismissed the case brought by Charlotte MacInnes, who had accused Wilson of spreading lies about her to millions of followers on Instagram.

Background of the Case

MacInnes said the posts had made her the subject of abuse, hatred, and ridicule online and affected her career prospects. However, Justice Elizabeth Raper disagreed. The claim and counterclaim are among serious allegations, including smear campaigns and embezzlement, aired in multiple court cases surrounding the production of the Australian musical comedy.

Wilson told ’60 Minutes Australia’ last year that the legal storm that engulfed the making of her first feature film was ‘like your worst nightmare,’ and the issues had ‘come out of left field.’ In an Instagram post after Wednesday’s ruling, Wilson thanked the judge and the Australian legal system for the ‘substantial win,’ and said she was looking forward to moving on.

Incident in Question

One of the key claims related to an incident in September 2023, when MacInnes and producer Amanda Ghost shared a bath at a Sydney penthouse rented by the production company. MacInnes and Ghost said they were both in their swimsuits and entered the bath to warm up after Ghost had a physical reaction to swimming in the cold sea at the city’s Bondi Beach.

However, Wilson claimed that MacInnes had told her that Ghost had asked her to take a bath and shower with her and that the experience made her ‘uncomfortable.’ Wilson said she understood MacInnes to be reporting sexual harassment on set, and that as the director she was obliged to act on it.

Justice Raper found that only one of the claims was ‘made out’ – that MacInnes had changed her story about being uncomfortable, and that was not defamatory. The case was dismissed with MacInnes ordered to pay costs.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.