As she awaits the outcome of her appeal of a ruling that three producers of a film called “The Deb” that she directed can move forward with their defamation suit against her, Australian film star Rebel Wilson says in new court papers that the trio tried to sabotage the movie after she reported their bad behavior.
Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden sued Wilson last July 12 in Los Angeles Superior Court after the actor posted to her 11 million Instagram followers that the producers of the film had engaged in theft, bullying and sexual misconduct.
On Wednesday, Wilson filed a sworn declaration with Judge Thomas D. Long regarding Wilson’s countersuit against all three. Specifically, the statement is part of her opposition to the producers’ bid to quash the summons as it applies to Camp Sugar Productions Pty Ltd., Wilson’s loan-out company.
In their court papers, the plaintiffs’ lawyers note that their clients never sued Camp Sugar in California and that therefore the entity has no basis to be a co-plaintiff along with Wilson in the state. But Wilson maintains her company is indeed a proper plaintiff.
“Camp Sugar’s claims in this case arise from the same course of California-based conduct that supports my individual claims,” Wilson says. “The representations made by Ghost in Los Angeles induced both me and Camp Sugar to enter into a creative and financial partnership in the development of the film. These false commitments made in Los Angeles, and the subsequent misconduct that followed, directly affected Camp Sugar as a contractual party to the film.”
To sell the film, Ghost, Cameron and Holden retained William Morris Endeavor, a California-based talent agency, Wilson further says.
“After WME came on board, the (plaintiffs) began taking steps to sabotage the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in what I believe was retaliation against me for reporting their bad behavior,” Wilson says. “To this day, WME remains involved in the sales process and continues to shop the film to various entertainment companies, most of which, to my understanding, are based in California.”
Last Nov. 21, the judge denied Wilson’s attempt to dismiss the producers’ defamation suit with an anti-SLAPP motion and his ruling is now on appeal. The state’s anti-SLAPP — Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — statute is aimed at stopping people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate those who are exercising their First Amendment rights.
The judge found that the statements at issue by the 44-year-old Wilson did not involve matters of public interest, but instead were made in the context of the celebrity’s private business dispute with the plaintiffs surrounding the production and premiere of the film.
“The fact that defendant’s statements accuse plaintiff of criminal conduct make them defamatory on their face,” the judge wrote.
Ghost had filed a sworn declaration in opposition to the dismissal motion.
“I have suffered significant harm as a result of Wilson’s defamation, including the emotional and reputation harm and the embarrassment of being smeared as a criminal embezzler and sexual abuser in front of an audience of millions,” Ghost said.
Wilson’s statements additionally have disrupted efforts to sell the “The Deb,” jeopardizing and perhaps destroying the ability to recoup the producers’ investment or receive future profits, Ghost further contends.
The producers’ legal team includes Camille M. Vasquez, who represented Johnny Depp in his dueling litigation with former spouse Amber Heard.
Wilson’s film credits include the 2011 comedy films “Bridesmaids” and “A Few Best Men.”
A hearing on the producers’ motion to quash service by Camp Sugar is scheduled May 13.