Hollywood star Rebel Wilson’s role in malicious smear website probed

Malicious websites attacking the producer and star of Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut will be at the center of the second day of a major defamation trial.

The Pitch Perfect star directed, co-produced and starred in The Deb, a musical comedy set in rural NSW that remained unreleased for two years due to legal disputes.

She is being sued by lead actress Charlotte MacInnes over social media posts claiming the young actor revealed she was uncomfortable with co-producer Amanda Ghost.

MacInnes denies she filed the complaint with Wilson and says she has been aggrieved by the older actor’s suggestion that she retract the alleged comments in exchange for a starring role and a recording contract.

The allegations were referenced on malicious smear websites that attacked Ms Ghost and claimed she was a sex trafficker.

Wilson instructed a US publicist to publish the websites and then shared links with Ghost and MacInnes associates, the younger actor claims.

But the Bridesmaids actor denies any involvement in creating the websites and says there is no evidence to support the accusation.

The issue of attribution will be examined in the Federal Court when former The Agency Group employee Katie Case testifies on the second day of the defamation hearing on Tuesday.

Text messages tendered to the court appear to reveal her role in creating defamation websites while working for the PR firm under Melissa Nathan, founder of The Agency Group.

In the messages sent on August 6, 2024, Ms Nathan tells her employee Wilson that he wants one of “those sites”.

“It can be really loud…actually turning her into a madam, lol,” she instructed, according to court documents.

“Oh my god, lol, okay, this one is going to be fun,” Ms. Case replied after promising to put it together.

MacInnes claims the PR firm acted on Wilson’s behalf when it published the websites containing shocking allegations.

According to MacInnes’ lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC, a document containing many of the allegations published on the website was prepared under the name of Wilson’s company.

Wilson’s insistence that she had nothing to do with the smear websites is “beyond belief,” she said.

But it was possible that someone acting on Wilson’s behalf had engaged the firm in the hope of obtaining a more favorable recovery, her lawyer Dauid Sibtain SC argued.

The texts between third parties do not prove that the Hollywood actor had a role in creating the websites and mere mentions of her name could not support that claim, he said.

“The websites are distracting,” Sibtain told the court.

“They don’t really address the crucial issue in this case… (which is) that Ms MacInnes did in fact make a complaint to Ms Wilson.”

Wilson and MacInnes are expected to return to court separately on Tuesday after avoiding eye contact on the first day of proceedings.

The Deb was previously released in Australia in April after legal issues prevented its widespread release after its 2024 premiere.

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