Rebel Wilson has responded after a recent lawsuit claimed she “deliberately undermined” the release of her new film The Deb.
ICYMI, the Aussie actress was at the centre of a lawsuit filed by the production company behind the movie, A.I Film, and put to the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday.
The lawsuit accused Wilson of spreading false information about the film in breach of her contract, which allegedly affected the release of the musical comedy in cinemas.
While The Deb — which marks Wilson’s directorial debut — did end up premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September of last year, it has yet to receive a broader release worldwide.
Now, Wilson has taken to Instagram to respond to the lawsuit, one of multiple surrounding the film, describing the allegations that she undermined its release as “complete nonsense”.
“So apparently, I’m being sued in Australia?” Wilson wrote on her Instagram Stories on Saturday.
“It makes no sense. As the director, producer and co-star who nurtured a project called The Deb for five years from a three page idea into a gorgeous feature film, I want nothing more than to have this film released, and have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to get this to happen.
“To say otherwise is complete nonsense. I’m so proud of the film!”, she wrote.
Wilson went on to describe the lawsuit as “baseless”, and said it is “imperative the movie is released”.
“Many Australians worked so hard on this film … It’s been a year since the film has been completed and ready to go in cinemas.
“Everyone who worked on the movie and who knows me KNOWS, I put my blood, sweat and tears into this,” she said.
The Bridesmaids star then shared a snippet from the movie which featured the original song “F**k My Life”, saying she chose to share it “now because if these f**kwits aren’t going to release the movie, I may as well”.
The accompanying three-minute clip serves as the opening song in The Deb, and features many of the film’s castmates including Charlotte MacInnes.
Elsewhere in the NSW lawsuit, Wilson is accused of blocking the film’s release though legal threats and making false claims that MacInnes was the target of “inappropriate conduct”.
But A.I Film’s legal team insists that MacInnes denies she was ever harassed, saying Wilson’s claims to the contrary are “baseless”.
It is one of multiple lawsuits orbiting The Deb, with a separate defamation case in the US alleging that Wilson falsely claimed Amanda Ghost, a producer, had embezzled funds from the movie.
That lawsuit is ongoing.
Lead images: Kate Green/Getty Images and Rebel Wilson/Instagram
