A feud between Rebel Wilson and the producers of her directorial debut The Deb has intensified following a Cannes yacht party.
Variety reports that Wilson took to Instagram to criticise Charlotte MacInnes, the star of her film, who performed at a private event on billionaire Len Blavatnik’s luxury yacht.
Wilson posted from the film’s official Instagram account: “Charlotte MacInnes in a culturally inappropriate Indian outfit on Len Blavatnik’s luxury yacht in Cannes — ironically singing a song from a movie that will never get released because of her lies and support for the people blocking the film’s release.”
The Australian actress continued with another jab: “So glad you got your record deal Charlotte at the expense of the 300 people who worked on ‘The Deb’ and really wanna see it released.”
What makes this situation particularly unusual is that MacInnes is the lead actress in Wilson’s musical film about two girls preparing for a debutante ball in a small Australian town, and Blavatnik is the film’s financier.
This latest incident follows nearly a year of legal battles between Wilson and The Deb producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and executive producer Vince Holden. The producers sued Wilson for defamation after she accused them of “embezzling funds” and “retaliatory behaviour” in an Instagram video last summer.
The public spat has reportedly made potential distributors hesitant to pick up the film, despite strong interest following its Toronto Film Festival premiere in September.
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Hannah Reilly, who wrote the original stage musical and adapted it for screen, has broken her silence on the matter: “What should have been a joyous experience — a dream come true — has now been overshadowed by unnecessary drama. It’s been a heartbreaking and baffling turn of events.”
At the core of the dispute are writing and music credits. Wilson sought a full screenplay credit but was only awarded an ‘additional writing by’ credit by the Australian Writers Guild, with Reilly receiving sole screenplay credit.
Attorney Camille Vasquez, representing the producers, stated: “Since the beginning, this dispute has been about one thing and one thing only: Rebel Wilson’s obsession with taking credit where none is deserved, at the great expense of young, talented women, whom she tears down, all the while, masquerading to be their champion.”
Even the boutique that supplied MacInnes’ outfit has responded to Wilson’s claims, clarifying that the actress wore “an original 1970s handmade American ensemble” rather than an ‘Indian outfit’ as Wilson had claimed.
As this drama unfolds, Wilson’s other professional endeavours appear to be struggling. Her recent film Juliet & Romeo has performed poorly at the box office, earning just £422,126 worldwide, and she recently switched talent agencies from WME to UTA.
The legal battle continues as industry insiders observe with concern. One film financier at Cannes remarked, “It’s hard enough to open a film without a whole unrelated drama swirling around it.”
