Rebel Wilson defamation appeal filed by The Deb actress
Charlotte MacInnes is challenging the dismissal of her defamation case against Rebel Wilson and wants a new trial before another judge.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Charlotte MacInnes has taken the Rebel Wilson defamation appeal fight to Australia’s Full Court of the Federal Court after a judge threw out her case against the actor and director.
MacInnes, who appeared in Wilson’s directorial debut The Deb, filed a notice of appeal on Thursday, according to the Sydney Daily Telegraph. The filing came one day after the court sided with Wilson in the defamation dispute.
In the appeal, MacInnes alleges Wilson gave “false evidence” and made “dishonest statements” during the first trial, according to the report. She is asking for the case to be heard again, this time before a different judge.
MacInnes is also trying to undo the order requiring her to cover Wilson’s legal costs, according to the report. No response from Wilson to the new appeal was included in the reports cited.
What is Charlotte MacInnes appealing?
MacInnes is challenging the dismissal of her defamation lawsuit against Wilson. A defamation case is a claim that someone published damaging statements that harmed another person’s reputation.
Her lawsuit centered on Wilson’s Instagram posts about Amanda Ghost, a producer on The Deb. MacInnes claimed the posts suggested she had been sexually harassed by Ghost and damaged her reputation.
Wilson had previously sued Ghost for breach of contract and fraud, according to Rolling Stone. The appeal now keeps the legal battle around The Deb alive after Wilson’s court win.
What did Rebel Wilson say in the Instagram video?
The dispute traces back to an incident at Ghost’s bathroom in Bondi Beach on Sept. 5, 2023, after Ghost and MacInnes had gone for an evening swim, according to the reporting.
In a July 2024 Instagram video, Wilson accused Ghost of “inappropriate behavior” toward MacInnes that night. Wilson also accused Ghost of embezzling money from the film’s budget and of trying to suppress The Deb in retaliation for Wilson reporting the alleged “behavior.”
Those claims are allegations attributed to Wilson’s video. The reporting does not say they were proven in court.
MacInnes later rejected Wilson’s description of the bathroom incident, according to Rolling Stone. She described what happened as a nonsexual response to a medical episode and denied telling Wilson the encounter had made her uncomfortable.
What happens next in the Rebel Wilson defamation appeal?
The appeal has been filed with the Full Court of the Federal Court in Australia, according to the Sydney Daily Telegraph. MacInnes wants the earlier ruling set aside and the matter sent to a new trial before another judge.
The case remains tied to the messy fallout around The Deb, Wilson’s first film as a director. For now, the next move belongs to the appeals court, which will decide whether MacInnes gets another shot at the defamation claim.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.