Rebel Wilson denies social media posts were an 'attack' on actor

Hollywood star Rebel Wilson has told a court several social media posts targeting the lead actor in her film The Deb are true, on her final day of cross-examination in a defamation trial. Ms Wilson is being sued in Federal Court by actor Charlotte MacInnes, who claims Ms Wilson has tarnished her reputation by suggesting she withdrew a story about sexual harassment for career opportunities. Ms Wilson, who directed The Deb, has been cross-examined for two-and-a-half days about her claims. These include social media posts that said Ms MacInnes received a recording contract and an acting role because she 'changed her story', and at the 'expense' of The Deb cast. Ms MacInnes has accused Ms Wilson of claiming the young actor was sexually harassed. On Thursday, the court was shown an Instagram post shared by The Deb's official account, which Ms Wilson posted in May 2025, that accused Ms MacInnes of wearing a 'culturally inappropriate Indian outfit' while singing on a yacht belonging to the owner of Warner Music. Ms MacInnes's lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou SC, told the court it was not an Indian outfit, and asked Ms Wilson whether it was appropriate to attack a woman working on her film about what she wore. Ms Chrysanthou asked, 'Using The Deb Instagram account to attack the person who is one of the lead actresses on your film, that was utterly unprofessional, wasn't it?' Ms Wilson replied, 'I don't classify it as an attack, I classify it as telling the truth.' The post further stated that Ms MacInnes was 'ironically singing a song from a movie that will never get released because of her lies and support for the people blocking the film's release.' The court has previously heard Ms Wilson and three of the financial producers, Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron, and Vince Holden, were in a dispute about producer fees in the film's budget. Ms Wilson accused them of blocking the film's release, which was delayed from January 2026 to April. Ms MacInnes's lawyers said it was Ms Wilson who blocked her own movie's release. Ms MacInnes's lawyers argued her client was collateral in Ms Wilson's dispute with the producers, and the suggestions that she assisted in blocking the film's release were defamatory. A second Instagram post created by Ms Wilson said the fact 'this girl' (Ms MacInnes) had now been employed by the producer, Amanda Ghost, in other roles, 'should be all the proof you need as to why she has now changed her story.' Ms Chrysanthou asked Ms Wilson whether her posts were defamatory because they suggested Ms MacInnes received special treatment due to a relationship with Amanda Ghost. Ms Wilson replied, 'I don't think that was my intention with that.' Ms Wilson was also asked why she used fake 'take-down' websites created by her PR firm in a cross claim filed in another defamation case in the US. The court heard these websites, which labelled Amanda Ghost an 'Indian Ghislaine Maxwell' and a 'madam', formed several pages of evidence. Ms Wilson denied writing these websites but admitted she received no benefit from the experience, stating, 'All I have done is told the truth at significant cost to myself.'