Rebel Wilson Faces Smear Campaign Controversy

Texts show was described as 'f***ing nuts' by a PR crisis firm she allegedly hired to create a 'take down' website attacking the co-producer of her new film, a court has heard.

The Pitch Perfect star is being sued for defamation in the Federal Court by Charlotte MacInnes - the lead actor in her musical comedy film, The Deb, which she directed and co-produced with Amanda Ghost.

MacInnes launched proceedings over a series of posts where Wilson claimed the young actor made a sexual harassment complaint against Ghost, and then lied about it when she landed a role in another of Ghost's productions.

MacInnes denies making the complaint and says she suffered reputational damage from Wilson's suggestion that she withdrew the sexual harassment comments in exchange for a lead role and a record deal.

The court heard on Tuesday that Wilson allegedly hired PR firm The Agency Group in July 2024 to create a smear campaign website accusing Ghost of sex trafficking. Wilson denies any involvement with the website.

Texts between employees from the firm were read to the court, along with voice messages from a social media contractor, Jed Wallace, who said they needed to 'create a path where we expose Amanda Ghost'.

Hannah Reilly, the original writer of The Deb, said in her affidavit that she saw the website and recalled: 'It referred to Amanda as the Indian Ghislaine Maxwell, accused her of sex trafficking, and suggested she bribed women into silence with roles.'

'It referred to Charlotte [MacInnes] as one of these women.'

'Take down' website

The court heard Wilson allegedly became a client of the crisis management team in July 2024, ten months after she claims MacInnes made her sexual harassment complaint against Ghost.

The Agency Group employee Katie Case gave evidence from New York, describing the website as a 'whistleblower' site, but later agreed there was no actual whistleblower - the site was just created to appear that way.

Ms Case was told by her boss Melissa Nathan in August that Wilson wanted one of 'those sites' created, the court heard.

'It can be really really harsh ... making her a madam basically lol,' Ms Nathan told her.

Ms Case replied: 'Oh my god lol ok this one will be fun.'

Ms Case told the court she texted a friend, describing the site as a 'take down website', and said: 'Lol I helped write it.'

She told the court that she was asked to edit a draft version of the site and was briefed to ensure it was 'punchy' and 'incorporated language from Jed's voice note' before sending it back to her boss.

Ms Case claimed she later found out the draft was written by Wilson's production company, Camp Sugar.

On cross-examination, she agreed that anyone could have written the draft and listed the author as Camp Sugar.

'Bullying' complaint

Live entertainment producer Carmen Pavlovic also gave evidence on Tuesday, telling the court she had dinner with Ghost at the Icebergs restaurant at Bondi Beach on September 14 - nine days after the beach incident.

The court previously heard the defamation case hinges on what happened after MacInnes and Ghost went for a sunset swim at Bondi Beach on September 5, 2023.

Ghost had a flare-up of a medical condition called cold urticaria, which causes hives or swelling after exposure to cold air or water. MacInnes took her back to their rented Bondi penthouse and ran a hot bath.

The pair jumped in the bath together, with their swimsuits on. Wilson claims MacInnes made a harassment complaint against Ghost as a result of that bath - which MacInnes denies.

In court on Tuesday, Ms Pavlovic said MacInnes was kicked out of the penthouse after Wilson told Ghost about her alleged harassment complaint, and later frozen out of the recording studio during the making of The Deb.

Ms Pavlovic told the court that MacInnes had been seen crying at the studio, and Ghost was so angry with MacInnes that she couldn't make eye contact with her. 

During their dinner at Icebergs, she said Ghost seemed angry over the alleged harassment complaint by MacInnes.

'I got the impression she was angry because she was really blindsided by [MacInnes'] comments and she didn't understand the comment, and she was upset because it's a serious comment,' she said.

She also expressed concern to Ghost that MacInnes could launch a bullying complaint over Ghost and Wilson - two very senior and influential figures - if the matter wasn't dealt with properly.

Ms Pavlovic suggested that someone who was not part of The Deb speak with MacInnes about the alleged complaint to ask her how she was doing, and how she wanted to deal with the situation.

On September 15, the day after the Icebergs dinner, Ms Pavlovic told the court that Ghost said MacInnes would be independently interviewed about the bath situation, and that she would have a support person with her.

Asked by Mr Sibtain whether she spoke to Ghost after the interview, Ms Pavlovic said: 'She told me the situation had been outlined to Charlotte, Charlotte had the chance to respond, she didn't have any concerns over what transpired that evening in Bondi.'

'There was a misunderstanding, she was OK, and that Amanda after the meeting told me it had been put in writing and after the meeting had a chance to clear the air with Charlotte and make sure everything was clear between them.'

The court case continues.