Three producers behind Rebel Wilson ’s movie “ The Deb ” have sued her for defamation in California after the “Pitch Perfect” star accused them of embezzling funds and sabotaging her feature directorial debut. Variety has also exclusively obtained a letter of demand sent by Wilson to the producers in June, detailing previous allegations of financial impropriety and sexual harassment. On Wednesday, Wilson posted a video message to Instagram captioned “If my movie gets buried at least you know why,” and went on to accuse producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and executive producer Vince Holden of “embezzling funds” from the project, as well as “absolute viciousness and retaliatory behavior” in the aftermath.
In the producers’ filing, they denied these accusations and claimed that Wilson has attempted to hold the film hostage over credits for screenwriting and musical recordings. The defamation suit alleges unprofessional conduct on Wilson’s part – including claims she disappeared from set for extended periods of time and threatened financiers with “exposing” them to her roughly 11 million Instagram followers. At the center of the defamation filing Is a dispute over credits.
Wilson sought co-authorship of the screenplay as well as rights to the film’s original music. Hannah Riley, the original screenwriter who producers called Wilson’s “protégé,” was awarded full credit by the Australian Writers Guild on the “The Deb” following an.
