Rebel Wilson’s film The Deb is mired in legal action – so what happened?

It all sounded so promising. After Hollywood success with Bridesmaids, the Pitch Perfect trilogy and Jojo Rabbit, Rebel Wilson’s first film as director, the Australian musical comedy, The Deb, was strong enough to be selected for closing night at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.

Rebel Wilson on the set of The Deb.Credit: Instagram

It centred on two teenagers – big-hearted farm girl Taylah (Natalie Abbott) and her cynical city cousin Maeve (Charlotte MacInnes) – attending a debutant ball in the fictional country town of Dunburn. Wilson played the town’s beautician in a solid supporting cast that included Tara Morice, Shane Jacobson, Susan Prior and the late Julian McMahon.

With a script by Hannah Reilly, who, with musician Meg Washington, wrote the stage show on which the film is based, The Deb had all the makings of a hit in the tradition of Muriel’s Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.

But 10 months after the world premiere in September last year, the film is caught up in a particularly bitter legal dispute.

Why wasn’t The Deb released after it premiered in Toronto?

The drama around The Deb emerged when Wilson told her 11 million Instagram followers in a video post in July last year that executive producer Vince Holden and producers Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron were trying to block the Toronto premiere. She claimed in the video this was in retaliation for her reporting what she alleged was “inappropriate behaviour towards the lead actress” and “embezzling funds from the film’s budget”.

“They’re saying, you know, it can’t come out,” Wilson said in a video on the social media platform. “They might not release it, they might bury it. This is the work of hundreds of people who have put their heart and soul into this. And this behaviour is absolutely vile and disgusting.”

The producers quickly and emphatically denied Wilson’s allegations, saying they were false, defamatory and disappointing.

“Her self-promotional claims are clearly intended to cause reputational harm to the individuals who have supported her directorial debut film, The Deb – a joyous movie that we’re very proud of and are looking forward to sharing with audiences. For her to promote a false narrative to advance her own agenda undermines the film and all the people who worked on this project.”

The producers subsequently filed a defamation suit against Wilson in Los Angeles Superior Court. While the Australian actor-director sought to have it thrown out under a California statute designed to dismiss cases that attempt to stifle free speech in the public interest, a judge ruled that the case should proceed at a date to be determined. This was because Wilson’s statements were made in the context of a private business dispute. The case continues.

Falling-outs between directors and producers are not uncommon, but they rarely play out as publicly – or in such inflammatory terms – as they have for The Deb.

What is the US lawsuit against Wilson about?

The producers said the US lawsuit was an attempt to make her accountable for her alleged “attempts to bully” the producers “into conceding to her unreasonable demands by spreading vicious lies” without considering the damage to their reputations.

They alleged Wilson unsuccessfully tried to claim a screenwriting credit despite a binding decision by the Australian Writers Guild that Reilly was the sole screenwriter.

Wilson, her lawyers and agent have been approached for comment on the producers’ claims.

So why is The Deb production company also taking Wilson to court in Australia?

Executive producer Vince Holden’s company, A.I. Film, filed a case in the NSW Supreme Court last week alleging Wilson blocked The Deb’s release with legal threats and had falsely outed MacInnes as a victim of sexual misconduct.

Wilson responded via Instagram a few days later to say the producers’ case made 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,” she wrote. “To say otherwise is complete nonsense. I’m so proud of the film!”

At the party to launch the forthcoming shoot of The Deb at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, from left, Natalie Abbott, Rebel Wilson, Charlotte MacInnes and Stevie Jean.Credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Warner Music

What’s the Australian lawsuit all about?

The new lawsuit, filed in Sydney by A.I. Film, claims the star “deliberately undermined” the release of her own film and knowingly told lies to damage her partners in the film. It also said Wilson had falsely alleged a producer had asked a young actress to stay in the same apartment as her and had complained about being “asked … to have a bath and shower with her, and it made her feel uncomfortable”.

Wilson claimed this actress, later identified as MacInnes, had subsequently “changed her story” after being cast in the lead role of a production and given a record label deal.

The producers have denied embezzling funds, blocking the film’s release and say in the latest lawsuit that “none of the producers had made inappropriate sexual advances to an actress in the film”.

Meanwhile, Wilson, at the weekend, posted video of the catchy opening song, F--- My Life, on Instagram saying “if these f---wits aren’t going to release the movie, I may as well”.

Have any of the stars of The Deb weighed in?

Part of the Los Angeles defamation case was that MacInnes had repeatedly denied “any form of wrongful conduct” by the producers.

“These statements are completely false and absurd; I have no idea what could cause Wilson and her attorney to make up such lies about me,” MacInnes said in a statement filed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in November.

Then in May, Wilson allegedly accused MacInnes of lying and supporting the producers after the 25-year-old actress was filmed singing Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club on a yacht at the Cannes Film Festival.

“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,” she allegedly wrote in a now expired Instagram story. “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.”

Last week MacInnes, who is quoted in the Sydney lawsuit as saying that “making false accusations undermines real victims and I won’t be the subject of a fabricated narrative”, told this masthead she just wants The Deb to reach the screen.

Natalie Abbott and Charlotte MacInnes in The Deb.

“I love this film and I can’t wait for it to be released,” she said. “It would be wonderful if these proceedings can help make that happen”.

Will the film be released and when?

Not releasing The Deb would be a damaging loss for everyone involved, including Wilson, the producers, the cast, the crew and the investors. Hopefully, the legal cases can be resolved, and the film can be released at some stage.

But it will need careful handling so the bitter infighting doesn’t overshadow what sounds like a joyful, rowdy and very Australian feelgood film.

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