Rebel Wilson didn’t let alleged PR threats stop her from publishing her memoir, Rebel Rising, out now. So much so that she’s explicitly naming her former The Brothers Grimsby co-star Sacha Baron Cohen, who appears in a chapter of the book about a negative experience in Hollywood. Who else (and what else) is Wilson calling out in her memoir? Read the latest update here.
The “asshole†has a name
March 24, 2024: Rebel Wilson did warn that she was going to “name the ‘asshole’†who appears in her new memoir. In an Instagram Story on March 24, she wrote, “I will not be bullied or silenced by high priced lawyers or crisis PR managers. The ‘asshole’ I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen.†Wilson first shared that she will have a whole chapter dedicated to someone in entertainment who was an “asshole†to her, hinting at Baron Cohen the week before.
A spokesperson for Baron Cohen responded to the news in a statement. “While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence, including contemporaneous documents, film footage, and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during, and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby.â€
This isn’t the first time Wilson has shared stories about her experience working with Baron Cohen. Writer Kayleigh Donaldson posted on Twitter two more times that Wilson has mentioned the same experience. The first was in an interview with The Kyle and Jackie O Show in 2014, as noted in the Courier Mail: “Every single day he’s like, ‘Rebel, can you just go naked in this scene?’ And I’m like, ‘No!’ Sacha and I have the same agent in America, and I’m like, ‘Sacha, I’m going to call our agent, Sharon, and tell her how much you are harassing me.’ Every day he’s like, ‘Just go naked, it will be funny. Remember in Borat when I did that naked scene? It was hilarious.’ On the last day I thought I’d obviously won the argument and he got a body double to do the naked scene. Then, in the last scene … he was like, ‘Rebel, can you just stick your finger up my butt?’ And I went, ‘What do you mean, Sacha? That’s not in the script.’ “And he’s like, ‘Look, I’ll just pull down my pants, you just stick your finger up my butt, it’ll be a really funny bit.’â€
Several years later, in 2017, Wilson tweeted a similar story without naming a specific person, writing, “A male star, in a position of power, asked me to go into a room with him and then asked me repeatedly to stick my finger up his ass. All whilst his male ‘friends’ tried to film the incident on their iPhones and laughed. I repeatedly said no and eventually got out of the room … Later I was threatened by one of the star’s representatives to be nice and support the male star. I refused. The whole thing was disgusting. I’ve told hundreds of people in the industry the story in more graphic detail basically to warn them off this individual.â€
Grimsby costumes were chosen to “humiliate†her, Wilson alleges
March 31, 2024: Rebel Wilson spoke more in-depth about what she feels was mistreatment on the set of The Brothers Grimsby. She told the Sunday Times that she felt all her wardrobe in the film was chosen to “see all the cellulite on my thighs and a top to show the fattest part of my arm … like I was something to be laughed at and degraded because of my size.†Wilson felt humiliated for her looks, as well as pressured to perform a nude scene, as previously stated. “It’s one thing for someone who is fat to exploit their size for comedy,†she said, “but it’s another for somebody else to humiliate you.â€
An anonymous producer of the film disputed Wilson’s claim in a statement. “In my capacity as a writer and producer, I was present with Sacha and Rebel on pretty much a daily basis from the moment she was engaged as an actor to the moment the movie wrapped and she was no longer involved,†the statement read. “Throughout this entire period, she was treated with the utmost respect and empowerment and was welcomed as a collaborator in all creative areas: the script, costume, hair, makeup — everything that involved her.†The producer added, “I was on set every day of production … to say she was bullied is simply false.â€
The statement continued: “Neither of their characters — Nobby or Dawn — were supposed to look conventionally attractive, that was the point and was always in the script that Rebel read and approved prior to signing up for the part.†Wilson “enthusiastically contributed to making jokes to that end, including about Dawn’s body type,†the producer wrote. “Never would Sacha want to humiliate his co-star and colleague.â€
Wilson thinks Adele “hates†her
March 31, 2024: Wilson believes that Adele does not harbor good feelings for her. Why? Because people would “confuse†the two in the past, she writes in an excerpt from Rebel Rising. “Some actresses would get offended if I called them plus-size in this book, so I have to be careful with what I say. This is why, I think, Adele hates me,†Wilson writes. “There was a moment when she was bigger, and some people would confuse us for one another.†The evidence lies in the fact that the singer would “always quickly†turn away whenever Wilson was near, she claims, “as if my fatness might rub off on her if I were near her for more than thirty seconds.†The actor never brought the subject up to Adele. “To be fair, I’ve never asked her,†Wilson admits. The alleged hatred remains unconfirmed.
Wilson “wishes†the news about her virginity was an April Fools’ joke
April 1, 2024: In an appearance on Today With Hoda & Jenna, Wilson discussed one of the book’s more intimate revelations, the one where she gets real about losing her virginity at 35. “I wish it was an April Fools’ joke, but it’s not,†Wilson quipped. Though it had its perks. “I didn’t have STDs in college,†she said. “So there were some good things about it. But I guess just to make people out there not feel alone. A lot of people have been writing to me on social media saying they were also late bloomers.â€
In her book, Wilson gives details about her experience, calling the age she lost her virginity a “shameful little secret†she’s kept. “Part of the reason I waited so long to have sex is because I felt that as a big girl, no one would ever find me sexually attractive,†she reportedly writes. “When it came to physical intimacy, I was terrified. I’d kissed more people onscreen than I’d ever kissed in real life. And seeing as I’d waited this long, I wanted to really love the person I was going to sleep with.†She later describes her relationship with Mickey, whom she met through a Pitch Perfect co-star. “I’m almost at my highest weight, but this great guy finds me desirable,†she writes. “It feels amazing.â€