Malicious websites attacking the producer and star of Rebel Wilson's directorial debut will be the focus of the second day of a blockbuster defamation trial.
Malicious websites attacking the producer and star of Rebel Wilson's directorial debut will be the focus of the second day of a blockbuster defamation trial.
The Pitch Perfect star directed, co-produced and acted in The Deb, a musical comedy set in rural NSW that remained unreleased for two years due to legal disputes.
She is being sued by lead actor Charlotte MacInnes over social media posts that claimed the young actor had disclosed she had felt uncomfortable with co-producer Amanda Ghost.
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MacInnes denies making the complaint to Wilson and says she has been harmed by the older actor's suggestions that she withdrew the alleged comments in exchange for a lead role and a record deal.
The allegations were referenced in malicious smear websites that attacked Ms Ghost and alleged she was a sex trafficker.
Wilson directed a US publicist to publish the websites and then shared links with associates of Ghost and MacInnes, the younger actor claims.
But the Bridesmaids actor denies any involvement in creating the websites and says there is no evidence to support the allegation.
The question of attribution will be explored in the Federal Court when former The Agency Group employee Katie Case testifies on the second day of the defamation hearing on Tuesday.
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Text messages tendered to the court appear to reveal her role in creating the smear websites while working for the PR firm under The Agency Group founder Melissa Nathan.
In the messages sent on August 6, 2024, Ms Nathan tells her employee Wilson wants one of "those sites".
"It can be really really harsh … making her a madam basically lol," she instructed, per the court documents.
"Oh my god lol ok this one will be fun," Ms Case replied after promising to pull it together.
MacInnes claims the PR firm was acting on behalf of Wilson when it published the websites detailing shocking allegations.
A document containing many of the allegations published on the website was created under the name of Wilson's company, according to MacInnes' barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC.
Wilson's insistence she had nothing to do with the smear websites "beggars belief", she said.
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But it was possible someone acting on Wilson's behalf had engaged the firm in hopes of securing a more favourable narrative, her barrister Dauid Sibtain SC argued.
The texts between third parties don't prove the Hollywood actor played a role in creating the websites and mere mentions of her name couldn't support that proposition, he said.
"The websites are a distraction," Mr Sibtain told the court.
"They are not really about the critical issue in this case … (which) is that Ms MacInnes did in fact make a complaint to Ms Wilson."
Wilson and MacInnes are expected to attend court separately on Tuesday after avoiding eye contact on the first day of the proceedings.
The Deb was released earlier in April in Australia after legal issues prevented its widespread release following its 2024 premiere.
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