Rebel Wilson thanks judge as she’s cleared in defamation trial: ‘Taught me a lot’
Rebel Wilson (Getty Images)
Rebel Wilson has been cleared in the defamation trial brought about by Australian actress Charlotte MacInnes, who claimed Wilson harmed her reputation in Instagram posts.
The posts, from 2024 and 2025, saw Wilson accused the young actress of retracting a sexual harassment complaint against producer Amanda Ghost, who worked on Wilson’s film The Deb, to further her career.
MacInnes denied this, and accused Wilson of defamation, claiming it would damage her reputation.
On Wednesday, as per BBC News, Justice Elizabeth Raper dismissed the case in a Sydney court. The judge said the suggestion that MacInnes had changed her story about the alleged incident with Ghost was not defamatory. She was ordered to pay Wilson’s costs.
Raper found that MacInnes had not shown that Wilson’s post caused or were likely to cause serious harm.
Rebel Wilson responds
After the judge’s decision, mum-of-two Rebel Wilson spoke of the trial on Instagram, saying: “This process has taught me a lot.”
She went on: “Thank you to everyone who has supported me. I’m grateful this chapter has reached its conclusion and I’m looking forward to getting back to what I love most, my family and my work.
“Thank you to the Judge and the Australian legal system who I have the utmost respect for.”
What the trial entailed
In April, a court was shown text messages between the three women which discussed the incident.
On 5 September, 2023, MacInnes and Ghost went for a swim, before Ghost had an allergic reaction to the sea water. They returned to Ghost’s apartment, and MacInnes ran a bath for the producer, who was trying to warm up.
MacInnes’ legal team claims the two got into the bath, which was “oversized” while wearing swimsuits, and “were not even touching at all”.
Wilson claimed she spoke to MacInnes about it and later told Ghost that MacInnes had felt uncomfortable. A few days later, MacInnes denied having said that and Wilson clarified with Ghost that Macinnes meant “‘it was a bizarre situation’ not that she personally felt uncomfortable”.
Wilson’s lawyer Dauid Sibtain claimed MacInnes had denied the complaint “to ensure that her career as an actress and musician progressed by appeasing Ms Ghost”.
Sibtain noted that “her career has progressed”. After the incident, MacInnes landed a role in a US theatre production and went on to work on releasing music.
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