Twenty-three chapters into her forthcoming memoir Rebel Rising, actress Rebel Wilson details an interaction with a mystery industry figure who “was a massive asshole,” she shared on Instagram earlier this month. Now, Wilson is naming names. In an Instagram Story post, she wrote: “The ‘asshole’ that I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen.”
Rebel Rising isn’t set to be released for another week or so, but the teasers and promotional posts have seemingly struck a nerve with those worried about what she might have written. “I will not be bullied or silenced by high priced lawyers or PR crisis managers,” Wilson wrote in the Instagram post, which has since been deleted, about Cohen.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Cohen denied Wilson’s claims, saying, “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.”
Wilson, however, did not seem deterred. On Tuesday, she issued a response on Instagram Stories, thanking fans for their “gorgeous messages of support,” and noting some “shared with me their own stories of this asshole!”
Wilson went on to assert: “Don’t worry I won’t be bullied or threatened by this guy! And am working hard behind the scenes to make sure my book comes out!” (She also reiterated that just one chapter of the book is about Cohen, not the whole thing.)
In the initial teaser video, Wilson didn’t share too many details, let alone any names, while recalling how she came to develop a “no assholes” policy at work.
“When I first came to Hollywood, people were like, ‘Yeah, I have a no asshole policy, that means like, yeah, I don’t work with assholes.’ I was like, oh yeah, I mean, that sounds sensible and logical,” Wilson explained. “But then it really sunk in what they were meaning by that — older people in the industry — because I worked with a massive asshole. And, yeah, now I definitely have a no assholes policy. Chapter on said asshole — it is chapter 23, that guy was a massive asshole.”
In the comments section beneath the video, some viewers speculated about who the actress might be referring to, while others emphasized the importance of calling out bad actors in the film industry.
Cohen and Wilson last worked together on Louis Teterrier’s The Brothers Grimsby. The film, released in 2016, was an action comedy that Cohen wrote alongside Phil Johnston and Peter Baynham. It also starred Mark Strong, Isla Fisher, Annabelle Wallis, Gabourey Sidibe, Penélope Cruz, and Ian McShane. The film’s box office earnings fell around $7 million short of its $35 million budget. In a review, Rolling Stone described Grimsby as “a lame piece of funny business, bloated with frantic action and rectal violation.”
This story was updated 3/26/24 @ 4:53 p.m. with an additional statement from Wilson shared on Instagram Stories.
