It was a typical scene in Cannes. On May 16, about 50 people converged on billionaire Len Blavatnik’s luxury liner dubbed Odessa II to celebrate his three films premiering at the festival including the provocative Joaquin Phoenix drama “Eddington.” The guest list included industry heavy hitters like “Pulp Fiction” producer Lawrence Bender and Access Entertainment president Danny Cohen. As revelers sipped rosé and sampled the luncheon buffet, singer-actress Charlotte MacInnes performed a cover of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club.”
Within hours, Rebel Wilson began posting from the official Instagram account of her upcoming film “The Deb.” “Charlotte MacInnes in a culturally inappropriate Indian outfit on Len Blavatnik’s luxury yacht in Cannes — 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,” Wilson wrote. “So glad you got your record deal Charlotte at the expense of the 300 people who worked on ‘The Deb’ and really wanna see it released,” she added in a follow-up. The fact that MacInnes is the star of the musical “The Deb,” which marks Wilson’s directorial debut, and Blavatnik financed the movie made the post all the more strange.
Then again, Wilson has been locked in a legal battle for nearly a year with “The Deb” producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and executive producer Vince Holden, who sued her for defamation after she posted a video on Instagram to her 11 million followers last summer that accused them of “embezzling funds” from the movie as well as “absolute viciousness and retaliatory behavior.” Meanwhile, the fate of the feel-good film, which revolves around two girls in a small Australian town who are preparing for a debutante ball, remains in limbo after its Toronto Film Festival debut in September. (Sources on the ground in Cannes say the film had strong interest from distributors and a deal seemed imminent until Wilson began posting, making buyers skittish.)
A representative for Wilson says, “The entire ‘Deb’ crew is looking forward for the film to finally be shown to the world. Rebel is so proud of this film and in awe of all of the hard work everyone involved put into the creation of her directorial debut.”
Some who attended the yacht party were perplexed by how Wilson, who is not in Cannes, obtained footage from a private party hosted by Blavatnik, who has backed such recent films as “Conclave” and “The Zone of Interest.” It appears as though the “Pitch Perfect” star pulled from an Instagram post made by Bender, who is blaming Wilson for sullying what he calls an “enchanting” performance by MacInnes.
“My only intention was to celebrate this young person’s incredible talent. The last thing I expected was for somebody to take this and turn it into something negative,” Bender tells Variety. “It’s just very disappointing.”
Over the ensuing days, Wilson continued to post about MacInnes, insisting that the 25-year-old actress received an excessive amount of time in the studio with Ghost, a luxury not afforded to other cast members. She also implied that the relationship between Ghost, who is married to Cameron, and MacInnes was nefarious. (Wilson previously accused Ghost of sexually harassing MacInnes, a claim flatly denied by all parties including the alleged victim.) “After this session Ghost took MacInnes back to the Bondi Beach Penthouse apartment that they were ‘sharing’ after Ghost insisted MacInnes live with her despite the film housing all interstate cast members in hotels which is professional standard,” Wilson wrote in a follow-up post from the @thedebfilm handle.
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A source close to MacInnes says Wilson’s post is a manipulative distortion of the truth.
“Charlotte had no more time in the studio than any of the other lead actresses,” the source says, adding that it was MacInnes’ agent who coordinated her use of the spare room in the condo where Ghost and her team were staying during a week when the actress, who lived hours away, was not on the production schedule and was not being provided accommodations.
At the center of the pitched battle is a dispute over writing and music credits. Wilson wanted a full screenplay credit but was only awarded an “additional writing by” credit by the Australian Writers Guild. Instead, Hannah Reilly was awarded sole screenplay credit. Ghost, Cameron and Holden said in their initial complaint that Wilson was unhappy with the guild’s decision, which was made in early 2024 when the film was in postproduction.
“Since the beginning, this dispute has been about one thing and one thing only: Rebel Wilson’s obsession with taking credit where none is deserved, at the great expense of young, talented women, whom she tears down, all the while, masquerading to be their champion,” says attorney Camille Vasquez, who is representing the producers. “It started with Rebel demanding a writing credit for a film Hannah Reilly wrote and has morphed into a smear campaign. Rebel Wilson is telling on herself — her latest bizarre outburst of jealousy is her confession.”
But a source close to Wilson insists that the bad blood stems from a clash of personalities between the “Bridesmaids” star and Ghost.
Up until now, Reilly has remained silent on the matter. But after Wilson’s latest salvo, she decided to speak out.
“What should have been a joyous experience — a dream come true — has now been overshadowed by unnecessary drama. It’s been a heartbreaking and baffling turn of events,” Reilly tells Variety.
Reilly wrote the hit stage musical “The Deb,” then adapted it for the screen through Wilson’s mentoring initiative that was created to support young women in the industry.
“What followed [the Australian Writers’ Guild ruling] has been a series of personal attacks and false accusations, most recently targeting Charlotte — who I cast in the original stage production,” Reilly said. “She’s a phenomenal talent and consummate professional who deserves to be celebrated, not dragged into chaos. I’ve been very reluctant to speak publicly, but I just want the hostility to stop so we can all move forward.”
Last year, Wilson filed an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss the producers’ suit against her. But she lost that bid in November, with the judge characterizing the matter as a “private business dispute” and noting that Wilson never reported the allegations to authorities.
“These statements are not made in the context of an ongoing controversy, dispute, or discussion about ‘inappropriate behavior, including sexual harassment, on movie sets,’ ‘embezzlement from film budgets,’ and ‘tax fraud,’” the judge wrote. “Instead, they were made in the context of Wilson’s private business dispute with the Plaintiffs.”
Wilson’s original demand letter, which preceded last summer’s scorched-earth posts as well as “The Deb” producers’ subsequent defamation lawsuit, suggests that she would walk away from the matter if conditions were met.
“Wilson was promised, among other things, (1) shared writing credits and (2) a record label deal under Warner Music,” the June 2024 letter stated. (Blavatnik owns Warner Music.) “Before initiating costly and time-consuming litigation, we are willing to explore the possibility of resolving this matter through informal and amicable means.”
Meanwhile, even the shop where MacInnes bought the dress she wore on the yacht has joined the fray. In an Instagram post, One Vintage Designs wrote: “Dear @rebelwilson, Please take a moment to educate yourself on fashion history. @charlotte_ macinnes is wearing an original 1970s handmade American ensemble, sourced from us at One Vintage-not an ‘Indian outfit.’ Your attempt to discredit and mislabel a piece rooted in authentic craftsmanship does more than miss the mark-it reveals more about your intentions than the outfit ever could.”
As the yacht saga rages, Wilson’s efforts outside of “The Deb” appear to have hit turbulence. “Juliet & Romeo,” which she toplines opposite “The White Lotus” star Jason Isaacs, landed in theaters on May 9 with a whimper. The film has earned just $422,126 worldwide to date. In March, Wilson quietly changed agencies from WME to UTA. (MacInnes is represented by WME and signed to Atlantic Records, part of Warner Music Group.)
MacInnes isn’t the first person Wilson has taken to the mat. The actress, best known for her comedic work in such films as “Bridesmaids,” previously accused Sacha Baron Cohen of sexual harassment on the set of the 2016 R-rated comedy “The Brothers Grimsby.” In their amended complaint, the producers of “The Deb” noted the fact that Wilson’s claims about Baron Cohen were removed from her autobiography in some territories.
“Due to these false allegations, portions of [Wilson’s] autobiography were redacted when published in the United Kingdom and Australia. Nevertheless, Rebel successfully used the furor around such allegations to promote the sale of her book,” the complaint stated. “As with this situation, Rebel hypocritically played the victim in order to elicit public sympathy in the hope that it would advance her professional self-interest.”
As the legal case plays out, Wilson’s recent posts have become the talk of the producer and film financier set in Cannes. Says one financier who is uninvolved with “The Deb,” “It’s hard enough to open a film without a whole unrelated drama swirling around it.”
From Variety US