Rebel Wilson has won a defamation case brought against her by actor Charlotte MacInnes, after an Australian judge dismissed claims that the Hollywood star’s Instagram posts about her The Deb co-star had harmed her reputation.
Justice Elizabeth Raper ruled on Wednesday that MacInnes had failed to establish the publications caused, or were likely to cause, serious harm, and ordered her to pay Wilson’s legal costs.
MacInnes, who played the lead role in Wilson’s directorial debut, The Deb, sued the Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids actor over a series of Instagram posts published in 2024 and 2025.
She alleged the posts falsely suggested that she had withdrawn a complaint of sexual harassment against one of the film’s producers in order to advance her career, and argued that they exposed her to “abuse, hatred and ridicule online” while harming her employment prospects, according to court submissions.
Delivering her judgment, Justice Raper dismissed the case, concluding that MacInnes had “failed to establish that the publications have caused or were likely to cause serious harm”.
During the trial, the judge said it was established that the only potentially defamatory meaning in Wilson’s posts was an allegation that MacInnes had changed her account of an incident involving one of the film’s producers, but ultimately ruled that this imputation was not defamatory.
The proceedings focused on a September 2023 incident that involved MacInnes and Amanda Ghost, one of The Deb’s producers. According to evidence heard by the court, Ghost suffered an adverse physical reaction after swimming at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
The pair returned to a luxury apartment rented by the production, where Ghost showered while MacInnes prepared a bath. Both women told the court they entered the bath wearing swimsuits to warm up and insisted that “there was nothing sexual in any way”, with Ghost saying she had been shivering uncontrollably and had developed welts after the swim.
Justice Raper remarked during her ruling: “To say that the circumstances surrounding how they came to be in the bath are unusual would be an understatement.”
Wilson maintained throughout the proceedings that MacInnes had originally described the incident to her as making her feel “uncomfortable” after Ghost allegedly asked her to shower and bathe with her.
Wilson told the court she understood those remarks to amount to a report of sexual harassment and believed she had a responsibility as the film’s director to act upon them. She denied fabricating the allegations or raising them as leverage in separate disputes involving the film’s production.
During the hearing, Wilson said: “I am known as a truth-teller,” adding that her social media posts amounted to “telling the truth” rather than an attack on MacInnes.
MacInnes denied ever making or withdrawing a complaint of sexual harassment. During the trial, her barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, accused Wilson of carrying out a “complete revision of history” and described her as “a fantastical liar who has made up terrible, terrible allegations about multiple people”.
Wilson’s barrister, Dauid Sibtain SC, rejected those claims, arguing that his client “had no motive to lie” and contending that MacInnes had withdrawn the complaint because maintaining a positive relationship with Ghost would benefit her career.
Shortly after Wednesday’s ruling, Wilson posted on Instagram thanking Justice Raper and the Australian legal system for what she described as a “substantial win”.
