Rebel Wilson cleared of defamation as Sydney court dismisses case brought by The Deb co-star

Court dismisses case

A Federal Court judge in Sydney cleared Rebel Wilson of defamation on Wednesday, ruling that statements the actress made on social media about her co-star Charlotte MacInnes did not cause serious harm. MacInnes sued Wilson over Instagram posts from 2024 and 2025 that, she argued, painted her as a liar who retracted a sexual harassment allegation to advance her career. Justice Elizabeth Raper dismissed the case and ordered MacInnes to pay Wilson’s legal costs.

MacInnes has failed to establish that the publications have caused or were likely to cause serious harm.

The ruling ends a bitter dispute that erupted during the making of The Deb, Wilson’s directorial debut, and spilled from a film set in Australia to courtrooms and social media feeds followed by millions.

The bath at Bondi

At the heart of the case was a bizarre incident in September 2023 during production. After a swim at Bondi Beach, producer Amanda Ghost suffered an allergic reaction to the cold water. The pair retreated to Ghost’s nearby apartment, where Ghost showered while MacInnes ran a bath. Both then got into the bath in their swimsuits to warm up. Wilson later claimed on Instagram that MacInnes confided she felt uncomfortable about the encounter, a version of events MacInnes has consistently denied.

To say that the circumstance surrounding how they came to be in the bath are unusual would be an understatement.

The bath incident became a flashpoint in a broader conflict between Wilson and her producers, with Wilson contending that MacInnes changed her account under pressure to preserve her relationship with the production team.

Accusations of dishonesty

During a May trial that featured hours of sharp testimony, MacInnes’ barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC accused Wilson of being a “complete revision of history” and a “fantastical liar” who made up allegations against several people. Chrysanthou argued that Wilson could not be believed on anything she said.

She is a fantastical liar who has made up terrible, terrible allegations about multiple people and her own witnesses have discredited her.

Wilson, who posted the statements to her 11 million Instagram followers, rejected the charge. “I am known as a truth-teller,” she told the court. She maintained she had no axe to grind and no reason to fabricate a story that risked fracturing her own film. Her barrister Dauid Sibtain SC said Wilson’s account had “no motive to lie” and that MacInnes instead had a clear incentive to abandon any complaint to keep her career prospects alive.

What happens next

With the case thrown out and no indication of an appeal, Wilson is free to move on from the two-year legal saga. MacInnes, already seen in the lead role in The Deb and subsequently cast in a stage production, now faces a bill for the defendant’s costs. The judge’s decision brings a close to a protracted fight that blended Hollywood glamour with the granular detail of a Sydney courtroom.