Rebel Wilson Claims Sexual Harassment Complaint 'Absolutely Outrageous'—Phone Allegedly Stolen or Dumped

Rebel Wilson returned to court on Wednesday facing accusations that cut well beyond a routine film dispute. Sydney's defamation trial has now become a bruising public test of whether the actress fabricated a sexual harassment complaint and then mishandled evidence when legal scrutiny closed in.

Wilson Rejects Sexual Harassment Claim, Claims MacInnes 'Invented Complaint'

Wilson is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actress in Wilson's directorial debut 'The Deb,' over Wilson's public suggestion that MacInnes had raised concerns about inappropriate conduct involving producer Amanda Ghost.

At the centre of the courtroom battle is an incident before filming began, when MacInnes and Ghost shared a bath after Ghost reportedly suffered a medical episode at Bondi Beach. Neither woman denies that the bath happened. Their case is that both were wearing swimsuits and there was nothing improper about it.

Wilson insists the situation landed differently when it was relayed to her.

Giving evidence under continued cross-examination, she described it as a 'nightmare situation' to have 'the financial producer living with and having a bath and shower with a young actress'. The remark laid bare Wilson's central defence that she was not passing on gossip, but responding to what she believed was a serious and troubling complaint arising within her production.

Sue Chrysanthou, appearing for MacInnes, attacked that account directly, telling Wilson it was 'a nightmare situation you created through a series of lies, isn't it?'

Wilson pushed back sharply. 'It would not at all be in my interest to make up a sexual harassment complaint between those two very important people.'

Wilson's legal team wants the court to accept that inventing such an allegation would have been professionally self-destructive at the exact moment she was trying to launch what she has repeatedly described as a celebratory female-led musical comedy.

Messages Under Court Scrutiny

Proceedings then turned to Wilson's communications with Ghost in the aftermath of the bathing incident, and the details were less tidy than her broad defence suggests.

Messages shown in court indicated Wilson wrote that MacInnes had described the episode as a 'bizarre situation, not that she personally felt uncomfortable'. That wording complicates Wilson's public position because it suggests some hesitation, even at the time, over whether MacInnes was in fact making a formal complaint.

Wilson told the court she believed MacInnes had already begun softening her account, but maintained that she still found the circumstances troubling.

What cannot be ignored here is that the case is no longer just about who said what in private conversations. It is about how Wilson later characterised those conversations in a far more explosive public dispute.

Meanwhile, MacInnes denies telling Wilson she was uncomfortable, with Ghost denying any predatory implication. Wilson says she was dealing with a deeply concerning complaint that then shifted beneath her.

Phone Dispute Adds Another Layer

If the sexual harassment allegation was the emotional centre of Wednesday's hearing, the missing phone was its most combative moment.

Chrysanthou accused Wilson of disposing of a mobile phone that allegedly contained WhatsApp messages relevant to the proceedings.

Wilson's lawyers have previously stated that the device was stolen in London in July 2025 and have submitted a police report in support of that claim.

Chrysanthou did not handle the point delicately.

'Are you sure your phone was stolen and you didn't just dump it in a park?' she asked.

Wilson called the allegation 'absolutely outrageous'. Her barrister, Dauid Sibtain, objected immediately, describing the questioning as 'intimidating' and 'offensive'.

A Film Launch Buried By Litigation

What was intended to be Wilson's transition into directing has instead become a legal spectacle stretching across Australia and Los Angeles.

The Deb, a coming-of-age musical about outback teenagers preparing for a debutante ball, was supposed to arrive wrapped in upbeat marketing and industry goodwill. Instead, it has been swallowed by allegations, counter-allegations and deeply personal courtroom testimony.

The film was released in Australia earlier this month but remains without a US distributor, an outcome that says plenty about how commercially radioactive this conflict has become.

Justice Elizabeth Raper is overseeing the trial, which continues in Sydney.