The legal case between actress Charlotte McKinnis and Rebel Wilson concluded closing arguments on May 8th, and new details emerging from court documents, text messages, emails, and recorded Zoom calls are painting a vivid picture of what allegedly unfolded during production of Wilson’s directorial debut, The Deb.
At the center of the case is a now-infamous incident at Bondi Beach during pre-production. Lead actress Charlotte McKinnis and producer Amanda Ghost went swimming together, after which Ghost experienced a severe reaction linked to her rare immune condition.
Following advice from Ghost’s own doctor, McKinnis helped warm Ghost up in the bath at a nearby penthouse, both women still in their swimwear. A third woman, Priya Ashcraft, was present the entire time and brought the women hot drinks. McKinnis has stated repeatedly that at no point did she feel uncomfortable, describing it as simply “a weird one.”
When Wilson learned of the incident, she allegedly began retelling the story in increasingly distorted ways. According to documentation reviewed, Wilson framed the single event as something that happened multiple times, saying things like the producer “was making the actress that was the lead take baths and showers with her.”
Communications from late 2023 and early 2024 reportedly show a consistent pattern of exaggeration and fabrication when Wilson relayed even basic facts about events on the production.
Court documents also reveal a pattern of behavior during filming. Wilson allegedly inserted herself and her then-girlfriend, now wife, into nearly every aspect of production. This reportedly included having McKinnis removed from her accommodation so Wilson’s partner could take the room with the better view, and Wilson’s wife calling billionaire financier Len Blavatnik to allege that producers Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron were stealing from him.
However, on an audio recording of a Zoom call between Rebel’s UK agent, Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron, and another production figure, Ghost states that Blavatnik himself requested the call because he did not know Wilson’s girlfriend, having spoken with her only once.
Perhaps the most striking revelation involves a series of smear websites created about Amanda Ghost, including domains like amandaghoststinks.com. Text messages tied to a PR firm also linked to the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni legal situation allegedly show a representative writing that “Rebel wants one of those sites. It can be really nasty.”
Further, a document used as source material for those websites lists its author as Camp Sugar, which is Rebel Wilson’s own production company. Wilson has publicly denied any knowledge of the websites, stating she does not even know how to make a website. A contract reportedly exists between Wilson’s lawyer and the PR firm for $25,000 per month.
Wilson has also been denied a full writing credit on the film by the Australian Writers Guild, receiving only an “additional writing by” credit. Court documents suggest this was a significant source of frustration for Wilson throughout production, and observers following the case note that the writer of the original play, Hannah Riley, also filed an affidavit in which Wilson does not fare well.
The judge’s decision in the McKinnis defamation case is expected to take several months, given the volume of evidence involved.
