The legal row between Wilson and the film’s producers erupted publicly earlier this year, prior to the Toronto International Film Festival.
Wilson accused the producers of attempting to stymie the film’s success by blocking a move to have the film take prominent placement as the “closing night” film of the festival. (The film eventually screened on the festival’s closing night.)
“To have the movie selected is one thing, but then to have the business partners turn around and say that, no, the movie can’t premiere is beyond devastating,” Wilson said in the post.
Wilson also accused the producers of embezzling funds and one of the producers of inappropriate behaviour toward the film’s lead actress, Charlotte MacInnes.
The producers responded at the time with a statement saying the allegations were “false, defamatory, and disappointing”, adding that “[Rebel’s] 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.”
The film’s producers then sued Wilson, claiming they had been defamed, and that their relationship with Wilson during filming of the movie had been combative, noting there was a behind-the-scenes fight over whether Wilson should get a writing credit on the film.
Wilson’s request for a writing credit was ultimately rejected by the Australian Writers’ Guild, who ruled that the screenplay credit belong to Hannah Reilly – a recipient of a theatre scholarship funded by Wilson – and that Wilson could instead get an “additional writing by” credit.
Wilson filed a countersuit to the defamation suit in October, alleging a “troubling pattern of egregious and illicit behaviours, including theft, bullying, and sexual misconduct.”
Separately, the film’s star Charlotte MacInnes, denied the allegations that she was the subject of harassment by the film’s producer, Amanda Ghost.
“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.
“Nothing that I told [Rebel] Wilson could reasonably have conveyed that I was reporting any misconduct because there was no misconduct,” MacInnes said.
The Deb is Wilson’s debut as a film director. It is the story of two teenage girls attending a debutante ball in a small Australian country town. The film was shot in Sydney and rural NSW, and is based on the musical of the same name by Hannah Reilly and Megan Washington.
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