The Guardian
UK-based AI Film has accused the actor of deliberately sabotaging The Deb’s release by making alleged threats and defamatory claims
The legal drama surrounding The Deb, Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut, has made landfall in Australia, with one of the production companies behind the venture filing a lawsuit against Wilson in the New South Wales supreme court this week.
UK-based AI Film, represented by Australian legal firm Giles George and high-profile barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC, accused the Pitch Perfect Australian actor of deliberately sabotaging the film’s release, alleging threats and defamatory claims had caused the production company financial and reputational damage.
The suit also claims the motive behind Wilson’s actions was to devalue the production’s worth and pressure AI Film and Australian company Dunburn Debutantes Commissioning Company (DDCC – the entity managing the film’s rights and named as the second plaintiff in the lawsuit) into selling their stake to Wilson’s company Camp Sugar.
Originally conceived as a quirky musical comedy celebrating Australian culture, The Deb was co-produced by AI Film and Camp Sugar, with Wilson directing and starring. But the partnership fractured in mid-2024 when Wilson took to Instagram to accuse fellow producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden of alleged embezzlement, sexual misconduct and obstructing the film’s release.
The allegations, broadcast to Wilson’s 11 million followers, were swiftly denied by the producers who began defamation proceedings against Wilson in the Los Angeles superior court last July.
In November, the film’s lead actor, Charlotte MacInnes, who Wilson claimed was the victim of the alleged sexual misconduct, filed a declaration in the US court stating that Wilson fabricated the claims, describing them as “completely false and absurd”.
The court subsequently threw out Wilson’s bid to strike out the defamation suit, not accepting her lawyer’s argument that under California’s anti-Slapp laws, the accusations she had made against the producers of her The Deb constituted “protected activity” and were a matter of public interest.
That defamation case remains ongoing.
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