Updated ,first published
An Instagram post by Rebel Wilson’s wife has sparked controversy in court after the young actor suing the Hollywood star for defamation said it appeared to be “mocking the evidence that I gave”.
Charlotte MacInnes, who plays the lead role in Australian musical film The Deb, which Wilson directed, co-produced and appeared in, is suing the Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids actor over a series of social media posts.
She was cross-examined by Wilson’s barrister, Dauid Sibtain, SC, in the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday before returning to the witness box briefly on Friday for re-examination by her own barrister.
Sue Chrysanthou, SC, asked MacInnes about a story on Ramona Agruma-Wilson’s Instagram account, posted on Friday morning. It showed a character from the animated film Finding Nemo, Dory, who is forgetful, with the words “I suffer from short-term memory loss … or do I? I can’t remember.”
Sibtain said it was an “anodyne reference to a character from a movie”, prompting Chrysanthou to retort that this “can’t be a serious” response “given the timing of the post”.
“I felt as though she was mocking the evidence that I gave,” MacInnes told the court.
Chrysanthou told the court this would be relevant to aggravated damages.
MacInnes is suing Wilson for defamation over four Instagram stories, posted between September 2024 and July last year.
Wilson suggested in one of the stories that MacInnes made “a complaint to me as director” that Amanda Ghost, a producer of The Deb, “asked her to have a bath and shower with her and it made her feel uncomfortable”.
Neither woman was named in that story, but surrounding posts contained identifying information.
The lawsuit
MacInnes alleges Wilson defamed her in the posts by suggesting she recanted the alleged complaint in return for further career opportunities allegedly set up by Ghost. The actor gave evidence on Thursday that she “never made a complaint” to Wilson and “didn’t walk back anything”.
At the time of the alleged complaint in September 2023, MacInnes was living with Ghost and the producer’s assistant at a rented Bondi penthouse apartment during rehearsals for The Deb.
MacInnes gave evidence on Thursday that the bath incident on September 5, 2023, was a medical episode. Ghost had a reaction to the cold after swimming with MacInnes at Bondi Beach, and MacInnes assisted the producer to warm up, she said. At one stage both women, wearing their swimmers, shared a bath.
Producer gives evidence
Ghost, who flew from London to give evidence, told the court on Friday she believed MacInnes “nearly carried me into the bathroom” and she got in the shower.
“As much as I could speak, I said I wasn’t getting warm,” Ghost said. She said MacInnes and her assistant, Pia Ashcroft, suggested she get in the bath.
MacInnes has given evidence she was in the bath first, and denied Ghost invited her to get in.
Ghost said she was “shocked” when Wilson suggested the following day that MacInnes had told her she had been uncomfortable during this incident.
But Wilson texted Ghost the next day, September 7, 2023, and said: “Charlotte says all good. She just meant ‘it was a bizarre situation’ not that she felt personally uncomfortable x.”
Ghost texted back: “Oh thank f— for that!!” She added “OMG”, “that’s hilarious”, and “I nearly died” in a string of follow-up messages.
‘Not too late to recast’ text
Asked if she thought MacInnes was “being a troublemaker” around this time, Ghost disagreed but said she “didn’t know what she was doing”.
“Both you and Ms Wilson suggested firing Ms MacInnes in jest,” Sibtain said. “No,” Ghost replied.
She was shown a text later that month from Wilson with a screenshot of what Sibtain said was a “young brunette” and the words: “Ramona says not too late to recast.”
Ghost replied to the text: “Yes please.”
She told the court this was her response to “how funny” the joke was. She said the photo was of “a girl we that we had already auditioned” who did not get a role.
Asked if she was annoyed with MacInnes after the alleged complaint, Ghost said: “I was not annoyed at the beginning; I was annoyed when Rebel presented a case against her to me.”
The court heard Ghost arranged with another producer, Greer Simpkin, for MacInnes to leave the apartment.
Simpkin checked MacInnes’ version of events with her agent, who said in a text that the actor was “very aware Amanda is keeping her distance”. MacInnes has “categorically stated that she was never uncomfortable with Amanda”, the agent said.
‘Not sure I buy what she’s saying’
Wilson texted Ghost after reading the actor’s version of events, set out in an email from MacInnes’ agent on September 18, 2023.
“I just read the email – so basically she’s denying telling me the statement!!!” she said.
“And now saying I misunderstood!!! She’s obviously very upset she’s fallen out of favour. At least you have in writing that she never felt uncomfortable.”
Ghost replied: “Just re read that email, hmmmmm, not sure I buy what she’s saying.”
Ghost told the court she made that comment because she wanted to make sure Wilson “was not upset”, but around this time she had “concerns about Rebel’s and her [MacInnes’] honesty”.
Simpkin said in an email to Ghost on September 18: “Charlotte is walking back the statement she made to Rebel. I feel there is some fudging being done by Charlotte.
“I wonder though, under the circumstances, if you are happy to draw a line under it since she no longer is saying that she was uncomfortable?”
Ghost replied that she wanted to “draw a line and move on”.
She told the court a later meeting she had with MacInnes resolved her doubts.
“I was still confused, but I did believe her when she told me she never said it,” she said.
Chrysanthou alleged in her opening address to the court that Wilson “was not a whistleblower … seeking to protect a young actress” and had only claimed when it “suited” her that MacInnes was “a victim”. The Hollywood star will give evidence next week.
Wilson has denied making the claims to further her commercial interests amid a welter of legal disputes with the film’s co-producers, including Ghost. She is seeking to rely chiefly on the defence of truth.
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