Rebel Wilson says working with Sacha Baron Cohen was the ‘worst experience of her career’ and it left her feeling ‘humiliated and ashamed’ as she speaks on the controversy
Rebel Wilson has admitted that working with Sacha Baron Cohen was the ‘worst professional experience’ of her career, leaving her feeling ‘humiliated’.
The actress, 44, opened up for the first time about her difficult experience with the British actor, 52, in her new memoir Rebel Rising, which has been released in Britain with the allegations about Sascha – which he strongly denies – redacted.
Speaking about working with Sacha on the 2016 film Grimsby at An Evening With Rebel Wilson at the London Palladium on Monday night, Rebel claimed that if she was the person she is today, she would have left the project.
Fearne Cotton, host of the evening with Rebel, addressed the claims she has made about Sacha, asking her: ‘Have you recovered from it and recovered mentally?’
Rebel explained, “I mean, it’s been over ten years, so I got rid of it. But it was a bad experience and I felt humiliated and a bit ashamed because I should have left.”
Rebel Wilson has said working with Sacha Baron Cohen was the ‘worst professional experience’ of her career
The actress, 44, opened up for the first time about her difficult experience with the British actor, 52, in her new memoir Rebel Rising, which has been released in Britain, but the parts about Sascha have been edited (pictured together in the film)
The Australian star said that if she was as strong as she is now, she would have left the project, but went on to explain why she didn’t.
Rebel said: ‘I would have stayed as the person I am today. But he was a bigger star and we had the same agent, so there was a conflict of interest.
“I felt like I had to finish the job and that was professional, but if I was the person I am now, I would have left.”
Revealing why she shared her experiences in her memoir, she said: “I wanted to write the story for if anyone is going through something like that, to give them perspective on it if they’re feeling ashamed. Writing about it released some of that shame.”
It comes after Sacha broke his silence after Rebel’s edited memoir was released in Britain last Thursday.
The book was published in the US earlier this month and includes a chapter entitled Sacha Baron Cohen And Other A**holes, in which Rebel makes claims about Sacha’s behavior during the Grimsby filming, which he has strongly denied.
However, on the British copies the wording is roughly blacked out due to what Rebel calls ‘quirks’ of English law.
In response to the book’s UK publication, Sacha’s legal team has taken this decision by publisher HarperCollins as vindication, following the creator’s strong denial of Rebel’s claims.
Speaking about working on 2016 film Grimsby with Sacha An Evening With Rebel Wilson at the London Palladium on Monday night, Rebel said she felt ‘humiliated’ during filming (pictured upon arrival at the event)
It comes after Sacha broke his silence after Rebel’s edited memoir was released in Britain on Thursday
“HarperCollins did not fact-check this chapter in the book prior to publication and took the sensible but terribly belated step of removing Rebel Wilson’s defamatory claims after they were presented with evidence that they were false,” said the statement, presented in Deadline.
‘Printing untruths is against the law in Britain and Australia; this is not a “quirk” as Ms Wilson said, but a legal principle that has existed for many hundreds of years.
“This is a clear victory for Sacha Baron Cohen and confirms what we have said from the beginning: that this is demonstrably false.”
After the revised edition was finally published, publisher HarperCollins confirmed to MailOnline that details had been removed.
They told MailOnline: ‘The book contains some redactions in Chapter 23 on pages 216, 217, 218 and 221, as well as an explanatory note at the start of the chapter.’
After the allegations were detailed in the US version of the book, Sacha’s spokesperson said: ‘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.’
The British version contains a reference to ‘the worst experience of my professional life’. An incident that left me feeling bullied, humiliated and compromised…
‘It cannot be printed here due to the peculiarities of the law in England and Wales.’
The rest of the page has been redacted, with black lines also removing shorter details elsewhere in the chapter.
The Bridesmaids star said her goal wasn’t to cancel Sacha with her memories in the memoir, but to retell an experience that left her feeling “completely disrespected, which led to me treating myself with even more disrespect.” by eating in an extremely unhealthy way’.
In the British book, Rebel says she ‘regrets the day’ she met Sacha, who she describes as her ‘idol’.
She describes how they first met at a dinner party hosted by Little Britain star Matt Lucas, and a year later he offered her a role in Grimsby, which was released in North America as The Brothers Grimsby.
The book Rebel Rising, which has already been published in the US, contains a chapter entitled Sacha Baron Cohen and Other A**holes, but there will be black lines running through certain parts.
In response to the book’s UK release, Sacha’s legal team has taken this decision by publisher HarperCollins as vindication, following the creator’s strong denial of Wilson’s claims.
Rebel called her sex scene with Sacha in the film Grimsby ‘the most disgusting thing ever’, nine years before calling the star an ‘a**hole’ in her new memoir (pictured during the filming of Grimsby in 2014)
She played Dawn, the wife of Sacha’s character Nobby, a football fan who gets sucked into the world of his secret agent brother.
Last month, she first named Sacha as the celebrity responsible for making threats about the book, only for his representatives to hit back.
Rebel took to Instagram to confirm the identity, writing: “I will not be silenced by expensive lawyers or PR crisis managers. The *** I talk about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen.’
In the wake of her statement, Sacha spoke out to TMZ through representatives, saying, “While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence…
‘[With] contemporaneous documents, film footage and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby.’
As well as her shocking comments about the ‘disgusting’ sex scene in Grimsby, in an interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly at the time, the Pitch Perfect star also lambasted her burqa-wearing character Dawn in one scene.
In the wake of her claims, Sacha spoke to TMZ through representatives, saying, “While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence.”
She emphasized at the time that the scenes were all in the name of comedy: “Clearly I mean no offense to Muslims. I asked my Muslim friend, “Are you okay with telling the joke we’re telling?” And she said yes.
She added, “But she’s pretty liberal and lives in New York, so who knows? But it’s a joke and no offense intended.”
Rebel’s post came just two days after the Pitch Perfect star claimed a celebrity she once worked with threatened her over the publication of the memoir.
She said: ‘I wrote about a hole in my book. Now, said a***** is trying to threaten me. He has hired a PR crisis manager and lawyers. He’s trying to prevent the press from reporting my book. But the book WILL be published and you will all know about it.’
In an Instagram video shared on March 15, Wilson revealed that she dedicated a chapter in her book to the “huge a**hole” she worked with in Hollywood.
Rebel will discuss her book during a UK tour later this month, with performances in Edinburgh, Manchester and London.
She will speak with comedian and Loose Women star Judi Love in Edinburgh and Manchester on April 24 and 26 respectively, and with broadcaster Fearne Cotton at the London Palladium on April 29.