Rebel Wilson’s memoir suffers delays amid Sacha Baron Cohen harassment allegations
Malia Mendez April 4, 2024
Rebel Wilsons highly anticipated memoir, Rebel Rising, hit U
.
S
.
shelves on Tuesday, but its publication has been delayed in Australia the
actor’sactresss
birthplace and the U
.
K.
Publisher HarperCollins explained the delays as an effort to align publication with the
actor’sactresss
press tour schedule. But with buyers receiving cryptic messages about Rebel Rising being currently unavailable and booksellers canceling and refunding orders without explanation, fans are speculating that the book has been pulled due to a controversial section in which Wilson recounts her on-set experience with The Brothers Grimsby co-star
Sacha Baron Cohen
.
In the Pitch Perfect alums tell-all book, she writes about narrates her rise to stardom amid and the personal struggles , including she encountered along the way: fatphobia and infertility, among others. Per the memoirs
, Rebel Rising follows Rebel Wilsons incredible journey of making it, constantly questioning, Am I good enough? Will I ever find love? Will I ever change and become healthy? according to the
of the memoir.Wilsons publisher HarperCollins
the delays as an effort to align publication with the actresss press tour schedule. But with buyers receiving cryptic
about Rebel Rising being currently unavailable and booksellers
canceling and refunding orders
without explanation, fans are speculating that the book has instead been pulled due to a controversial section in which Wilson recounts her on-set experience with The Brothers Grimsby co-star Sacha Baron Cohen.In
Wilsons account
, which
appeared in an excerpt published
in MarchMar. 26
by People.
S
he
wrotewrites
that during filming for the 2016 spy action comedy, Baron Cohen made her uncomfortable by repeatedly asking her to appear nude in the film despite her no nudity rule.
She also alleges that he urged her
, while filming an extra scene for which she told
that director Louis Leterrier was not present,
to stick a finger up his rear end
as they were filming an “extra scene.” Wilson told
DailyMail.com that she doesn’t believe the scene
could have “possibly been for the film ,” because movie director Louis Leterrier was not present., Wilson said, This could not have possibly been for the film.
The
actor statesactressclaimsin her memoir
that she was shocked and wanted to escape the situation
., adding,
I was now scared
,” the actor actress wrote. “
I wanted to get out of there, so I finally compromised: I slapped him on the ass and improvised a few lines as the character.
She also
wrotewrites
that she only agreed to a sex scene with Baron Cohen after several rewrites and recalls telling the producers that she wouldnt be promoting the film ahead of its release.
Baron Cohen has denied Wilsons allegations, saying they are contradicted by evidence.
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,” a spokesperson for Baron Cohen wrote in a statement previously shared with The Times.
DailyMail.com also reported Wednesday that Baron Cohen’s team
providedshared with the news outlet
nine anonymous statements from crew members that backed the claim that the extra scene in question was in the script. Others close to the production asserted that Leterrier cleared all nudity and sex scenes with Wilson before they were shot.
Additionally,
Baron Cohens team shared footage from the sex scene that seems to show that the action was part of the script and that Wilson was on board with it, the outlet reported.
In one clip, Wilson can be heard discussing the scene while on camera but out of character, telling Baron Cohen, Ill do a slap [of your butt] and Ill do a going down the crack, to which he replies: Its almost as if youre going to ram your fingers inside, prompting her to answer, Yeah.
Still, in a statement to DailyMail.com, Wilson maintained her position.
It is an a move to release footage of one part of that disgusting episode while leaving out everything that preceded it including my horrified refusal to stick my finger up SBCs butt, she said. What this edited video shows is what I had to do in order to get out of the room, as written in Rebel Rising. Releasing unauthorized and misleading behind the scenes video without my approval is SBCs latest way of bullying and gaslighting me.
The Pitch Perfect alums tell-all book narrates her rise to stardom amid personal struggles, including fatphobia and infertility. Rebel Rising follows Rebel Wilsons incredible journey of making it, constantly questioning, Am I good enough? Will I ever find love? Will I ever change and become healthy? according to the
of the memoir.
A spokesperson for HarperCollins told the Sydney Morning Herald that it would not comment on
the possibility that
any threat of
possible
legal action by Baron Cohen
influencedhad on
the decision to postpone the memoirs Australia release
. The book was originally slated for release Wednesday in Australia but has since been delayed indefinitely, with the publisher saying a new date would be announced “in due course.” The book’s U.K. release date has also been pushed back to April Apr. 25. The publisher said and that a new date would be announced in due course.
Meanwhile, Wilson continues to promote her memoir in the
United StatesUS
.
During a Tuesday
on The Kelly Clarkson Show, she said,
I will probably go private for like eight to 10
ten
years after this cause I share so much in the book
, the actor said during a Tuesday appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
