Rebel Wilson appeals for dismissal of film producers' defamation suit

LOS ANGELES (CN) — Rebel Wilson asked a California court of appeals on Wednesday to overturn a lower court ruling rejecting her motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by a trio of film producers whom the actress accused of inappropriate behavior and embezzlement.

The production of the Australian comedic actress’ 2023 directorial debut, a musical titled “The Deb,” was beset by behind-the-scenes drama amongst Wilson and three of the film’s producers: singer/songwriter Amanda Ghost, her husband Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden.

Months before the film was set to debut at the Toronto Film Festival, Wilson accused the three in an Instagram video of “inappropriate behavior towards the lead actress of the film [and] embezzling funds from the film’s budget” — behavior she called “vile and disgusting.” She also called them “fuckwits,” and said they were trying to block the movie’s premiere.

The producers sued Wilson for defamation, calling the actress a “bully” who wanted a screenwriting credit and, failing at that, decided to make up accusations and post them online to her 11 million followers. In a letter sent two days after the lawsuit was filed, which was later leaked to the media, Wilson’s lawyers repeated their client’s assertion that Ghost and Cameron embezzled 900,000 Australian dollars from the film.

A LA Superior Court judge later rejected Wilson’s anti-SLAPP motion — a legal maneuver used to quickly dismiss a lawsuit aimed at chilling free speech or public participation — finding that the accusations were made over a private business dispute, not in a matter of public interest. The lower court also said that while sending the letter was protected activity, leaking it to the press was not.

The Instagram video, Wilson’s attorney Allyson Thompson argued, was made “in a heated moment,” when Wilson thought the premiere was about to be cancelled. Her accusations, Thompson said, were hyperbolic and vague, not verifiable assertions of fact, and therefore not defamatory.

“When is the last time you took a bath or shower with your boss?” she said. “My client found that to be inappropriate.”

As for the accusation of embezzlement, Thompson said Wilson “was informed, reasonably, that that’s what was occurring. That was basis for her opinion.”

“Opinion is not a get of jail free card,” the producers’ attorney, Samuel Moniz, countered. “Saying someone embezzled funds from a film is clearly a factual statement.”

He added that “in this day and age,” accusing a producer of inappropriate behavior toward a lead actress did rise to the level of defamation.

Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actress in “The Deb,” has denied any misconduct on the part of Ghost and said in a court filing that she was “deeply disturbed” by Wilson’s accusations.

Justices Lee Edmon, Anne Egerton and Mark Hanasono took the arguments under submission.

Wilson has also filed a countersuit against the three producers, taking a particularly gleeful aim at Ghost, an established songwriter who shared a credit on James Blunt’s hit single “You’re Beautiful.”

In her cross-complaint, Wilson said Ghost had “lied about her contributions and bombastically claimed an ownership percentage to [Blunt’s song] of which she was wholly undeserving.” Earlier this year, a superior court judge agreed that many of the claims in the lawsuit were not relevant to the causes of action, which include breach of contract and intentional misrepresentation.

“That’s not the kind of stuff that I will be letting in,” Judge Thomas Long said at hearing in January. “It’s just not gonna be what you’re allowed to put on when this case goes to trial.”

Long sustained the producers’ demurrer, striking most of the complaint. Wilson was allowed to file an amended version of her cross-complaint, which she did in March, this time accusing the producers of failing to pay Wilson half a million dollars in wages.

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