Sydney (AFP) – A Sydney court dismissed on Wednesday a defamation case against Australian film star Rebel Wilson by another actor.
Charlotte MacInnes, who had featured in Wilson’s directing debut “The Deb”, accused the star of defaming her in 2024 by suggesting she had changed an account of having been a victim of sexual harassment in order to advance her career.
The federal court case focused on an incident where MacInnes, who was 25 at the time, and the producer and financier of the film, Amanda Ghost, then 49, had shared a bath in an apartment after swimming at Bondi Beach.
Wilson alleged that MacInnes had complained to her the next day about being uncomfortable that she was asked by Ghost to take the bath.
Justice Elizabeth Raper on Wednesday dismissed the case against Wilson — star of Hollywood hits including “Bridesmaids” and “Pitch Perfect” — and ordered MacInnes to pay costs.
“To say that the circumstances surrounding how they came to be in the bath are unusual would be an understatement,” Raper said in the judgement.
The court found that while one of Wilson’s 2024 Instagram posts had suggested MacInnes “changed her story about feeling uncomfortable about what happened in the bathroom”, this was not defamatory and was also “substantially true”.
“It is obvious that Ms Ghost, a 49 year old woman, should have appreciated the inappropriateness of her conduct regardless of whether there was any sexual motivation or conduct,” the judgement read.
On Instagram, Wilson thanked the judge and Australian legal system for a “substantial win today”.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to what I love most, my family and my work,” she wrote.
“Thank you to the Judge and the Australian legal system who I have the utmost respect for.”