Aussie A-lister Rebel Wilson's honesty has been called into question over an expected delay in providing material for a defamation lawsuit brought by an up-and-coming actor.
Charlotte MacInnes is the star of Wilson's directorial debut The Deb, an unreleased musical that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024 but has since been mired in legal action.
MacInnes is suing Wilson over a series of social media posts in which the rookie director said her lead actor had revealed she was subjected to sexual harassment by a female producer on the film.
The emerging actor has denied the claims, calling them a "fabricated narrative" while adding that "false accusations undermine real victims".
But that didn't deter Wilson, who reiterated the claims and added that MacInnes had since been given a job by the producer and had secured a record deal.
"(That) should be all the proof you need as to why she has now changed her story," she told the Daily Mail.
The defamation case hit the Federal Court for the first time on Friday, about a month after MacInnes lodged proceedings.
Her high-profile defamation lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou SC, pushed for a quick resolution, citing "ongoing reputational damage" to her client who has been "unapologetically defamed".
But Wilson would find it difficult to provide a sworn statement quickly without seeing the substance of the complaints against her, the Hollywood star's lawyer said.
"Her evidence is not simple and straightforward," Renée Enbom KC said.
"It goes back to 2022 and it deals with numerous issues, not just the sexual harassment."
Ms Chrysanthou pushed back against the delay, arguing Wilson must be "very familiar" with the conversations she has repeated publicly.
"People telling the truth don't need to see documents in order to make a statement," she said.
"We don't understand why - when Ms Wilson has adamantly claimed for a year that she had these conversations - why she would be assisted by text messages to help her remember what happened. That's concerning for us."
Wilson was no busier than anyone else in court and had enough time to continue making statements about MacInnes to the media, Ms Chrysanthou said.
"She is clearly not too busy," she said.
Ms Enbom said people giving evidence about events that occurred years ago "often need to be assisted by documents".
There was also no evidence to show Wilson, who is working on another film on the other side of the world, had continued to speak about the emerging actress, her lawyer said.
Wilson was ordered to file an affidavit by December 10, with the matter set to return to court in February.
It is the third legal stoush to involve the embattled 2024 film directed by Wilson after production company AI Film accused the star of trying to sabotage its release.
The case, which has been lodged in the NSW Supreme Court, claims the Pitch Perfect actor made highly derogatory public comments to that end.
The comments are also the focus of a defamation suit lodged against Wilson in California.
Rialto reportedly acquired distribution rights for The Deb in Australia and New Zealand, with plans for a wide theatrical release in January.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
