Hollywood star Rebel Wilson has slammed as “outrageous” an accusation she directed a cyber attack on her co-star’s social media account that led to a nude photo leak.
The Pitch Perfect star is being sued for defamation by Charlotte MacInnes, the 27-year-old lead actor of the musical comedy The Deb, which is Wilson’s directorial debut.
MacInnes claimed she was defamed by Wilson in social media posts that suggested she was a liar who retracted a sexual harassment complaint to further her acting and music career.
Wilson alleged the young actor confided she felt uncomfortable when the film’s co-producer Amanda Ghost asked to have a shower and a bath together in September 2023, but later reneged.
MacInnes denied making or walking back a complaint, insisting she never said she felt uncomfortable.
On Thursday afternoon, Wilson rejected accusations she fabricated the complaint to sow division or raised it for her own purposes, rather than out of concern.
She claimed MacInnes withdrew her complaint against Ghost in exchange for “huge enticements” including a lead role in a stage production and a record deal.
“She’s changed her story, she’s flip-flopped and she’s been given huge benefits,” Wilson told the court.
She repeatedly insisted she told the truth in the social media posts that are the subject of what she deemed a “baseless defamation lawsuit”.
“I am known as a truth-teller,” the actor attested.
Posting the Instagram stories to her 11 million followers was not intended to attack MacInnes, she said, but it doesn’t appear to have harmed her.
“I don’t classify it as an attack, I classify it as telling the truth,” Wilson told the court.
MacInnes claimed she has been bullied and intimidated by Wilson and blamed her for organising a hack on her social media account which led to her nude photo being leaked.
MacInnes revealed her Snapchat account had been breached and there has been an attempted breach of her Facebook account just days after she filed legal proceedings against Wilson in September 2025.
“I believe that this was orchestrated by Rebel,” she wrote in an affidavit filed to the court.
“It was completely terrifying and caused me a new kind of anxiety.”
Wilson was asked whether she had arranged the cyber attack during her third day in the witness box of the Federal Court on Thursday.
“That is an absolutely outrageous statement to make in court that I moonlight as a hacker,” she replied.
When pressed on whether she had directed someone else to carry the hack out on her behalf, the Bridesmaids star retorted “obviously not”.
She similarly labelled an accusation of stalking the young actor to ascertain her whereabouts as outrageous.
MacInnes’ barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC suggested Wilson raised the alleged complaint with others after she knew MacInnes had said it was “all good” for her own purposes.
“I received no benefit from this experience that led to a court case,” the first-time director replied.
“All I have done is told the truth at significant cost to myself, at significant detriment.”
Wilson claimed she had been bullied and harassed because she continued to tell the truth to people, some of whom were extremely rich and powerful.
In response to a suggestion she herself is rich and powerful compared to MacInnes, Wilson said the young actor appeared to be living a luxurious international lifestyle.
Chrysanthou previously argued Wilson falsely portrayed herself as a whistleblower who sought to protect MacInnes when she had instead used the alleged complaint as leverage in a commercial dispute with her co-producers.
Wilson has rejected the claim and any accusations of bullying MacInnes, saying she regards herself as a champion of women.
Her barrister Dauid Sibtain SC contends MacInnes made the complaint and then changed her story to ensure her career thrived with Ghost’s assistance.
He has argued MacInnes’ career has progressed and she hasn’t suffered any harm to her reputation as a result of the social media posts, contrary to her allegations.
Asked about the impending birth of her second child as she entered the courthouse on Thursday, Wilson said her wife luckily hasn’t given birth yet in the US.
Wilson has previously denied in court having any involvement in ordering or authoring the websites which described the producer as the “Indian Ghislaine Maxwell” and a sex trafficker.
She said her former US lawyer hired The Agency Group to assist her in a legal dispute with her co-producers but insisted the firm had not been commissioned to work for her.
The firm is also accused of creating smear websites attacking Hollywood actor Blake Lively on behalf of her co-star Justin Baldoni.
Wilson was asked earlier in the week to produce communications between her and the employees of The Agency Group, including a text chain with chief executive Melissa Nathan.
Chrysanthou also called for any receipts for payments to the PR firm in an attempt to discern who paid for the services rendered by Nathan.
An agreement tendered to the court shows Wilson’s US lawyer – with whom she has now parted ways – retained The Agency Group for strategic communication services in connection with the star.
“As consideration for the Services, Rebel Wilson hereby agrees to pay Agency a sum of $25,000 USD per month,” the unsigned letter of agreement records.
When asked about the agreement dated July 2024, Wilson said it had been sent to her lawyer despite being addressed to her.
She rejected suggestions from Chrysanthou that she was being utterly dishonest and had lied for a year about the topic.
The trial continues.
-
In Australia, support is available at Full Stop Australia (1800 385 578). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html