Do we like Rebel Wilson?
Our score: 6 out of 10. No harmful words or company turned up and she has some real good on the board, but the film feud leaves the good-person side unsettled.
Wilson was born in Sydney in 1980, and her parents were professional dog handlers who toured the country selling canine products from a caravan. She was a shy kid who watched people for fun, which she later tied to her comedy. After uni she went to South Africa as a youth ambassador, caught malaria, and says a fever hallucination convinced her to act. Second City in New York, then Bridesmaids and Pitch Perfect's Fat Amy followed.
Her first big court saga was the one she started. She sued Bauer Media over Woman's Day articles and won about $4.7 million in 2017, but the Court of Appeal cut that to $600,000 and the High Court refused her leave in 2018. Her line afterwards was that it was never about the money, it was about standing up to a bully. She had also said she planned to give the damages to charity.
Then came The Deb, her directorial debut. In 2024 the film's producers sued her in the US over an Instagram video in which she accused them of sabotaging its Toronto premiere and embezzling funds, which they deny. Their lawyer described her as a bully who disregards others, a claim that is theirs, not a finding. Wilson called a later Australian suit from the producers spiteful, and she stood by her claims.
On the harm test, there's honestly not much to find. No anti-LGBTQ+ campaigning, no conspiracy theories, no climate or vaccine nonsense turned up in the reporting I read. She came out publicly in June 2022 with a Disney princess post, and her new film Girl Group is a pop comedy she directs, filmed in 2025 with pop stars. That's a clean sheet on the company she keeps, as far as the record shows.
The recent stuff is the big one. In July a Federal Court judge dismissed a defamation case brought by The Deb's lead actor Charlotte MacInnes over four Instagram posts, finding the imputation wasn't shown to have caused serious harm. MacInnes denied ever making the complaint at the centre of it and is reported to be planning an appeal. Then on 23 October another judge found Wilson did not sabotage the film's release.
The cost was heavy for everyone. The Deb reportedly earned about $335,000 at the Australian box office from a $20 million budget, and both sides have accused the other of nasty things in court. The producers alleged Wilson paid a US PR firm to publish websites about one of them, while her cross-claim alleged theft, bullying and sexual misconduct by the producers. Those allegations are untested as far as the reporting shows.