Overview
- The Federal Court of Australia ruled Friday that Rebel Wilson did not defame Charlotte MacInnes, finding MacInnes had changed her account of a September 2023 bath and that Wilson’s statements were substantially true or not likely to cause serious harm.
- Justice Elizabeth Raper said she had serious misgivings about the truthfulness of testimony from MacInnes, Amanda Ghost and Wilson, but accepted Wilson’s contemporaneous notes and messages as supporting her version of events.
- MacInnes filed a formal appeal contesting the judgment and arguing the judge made legal errors, failed to weigh evidence correctly, and that Wilson gave false evidence and withheld relevant documents while denying involvement with an alleged smear website.
- Producers of the film The Deb have separate litigation against Wilson in Los Angeles over writing credits and related claims, so different courts could reach different outcomes that affect the film’s credits and reputations.
- Under Australian defamation law the court applied the serious‑harm test and a substantial‑truth defence, and the appeal plus cross‑jurisdictional cases mean final resolution of reputational and commercial consequences remains uncertain.