Wilson Calls Phone-Dump Claim 'Outrageous' in Defamation Trial
SkimNews Take
The "phone-dumping" accusation, if true, would shift the legal battle from the merits of the defamation claim to the integrity of the evidence itself.
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- Rebel Wilson told the federal court her phone was stolen in London and certain text chains were never backed up, rejecting lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC's suggestion she 'just dumped it in a park' to avoid producing communications in the defamation suit.
- Charlotte MacInnes, 27-year-old lead of the musical The Deb, is suing Wilson over social media posts alleging MacInnes retracted a sexual harassment complaint to advance her own acting and music career.
- Wilson testified that MacInnes confided she felt uncomfortable after The Deb co-producer Amanda Ghost asked her to have a shower and bath together in September 2023, describing the scenario as 'an absolute nightmare situation' for a first-time director making a 'girl-power movie.'
- Wilson pushed back on bullying accusations tied to a May 2023 text chastising MacInnes for not following up on a theatre invitation, telling the court: 'I don't regard one text message as bullying.'
- Wilson claimed MacInnes 'flip-flopped' on her complaint and later sounded nervous on a phone call insisting she had not been uncomfortable, suggesting someone spoke to the young actor to get her to change her story.
- MacInnes alleges in her sworn statement that Wilson orchestrated a cyber-attack on her social media accounts after the September legal filing, resulting in a nude photo being leaked to all her Snapchat contacts — a claim not yet aired in open court as of Wednesday morning.
- Wilson told reporters outside court she was anxious because her heavily pregnant wife could give birth to their second child 'any day,' adding: 'hopefully not today.'
Why it matters: Wilson's credibility is the central battle in a defamation fight with real money and reputation at stake for both sides — if the court finds she fabricated or embellished the harassment complaint to gain leverage in a dispute with co-producer Amanda Ghost, it would undercut her defence; if the cyber-attack allegation against her gains traction, it adds a criminal-adjacent dimension to a civil case where MacInnes, 27, is already claiming reputational damage from Wilson's millions of followers.
