By Francisco Silva -
In the court battle between the Hollywood actress/filmmaker and the lead actress of her debut feature, the Federal Court of Australia dismissed the claim that Rebel Wilson’s actions against Charlotte MacInnes were defamatory and damaged her reputation.
Australian actress Rebel Wilson has won a defamation case brought by fellow actress Debbie MacInness.
MacInness, who worked with Wilson in the film The Deb, accused Wilson of defamation and character damage after a series of social media posts the Hollywood actress wrote that implied MacInness lied and retracted a sexual harassment complaint to further her career. MacInness denied ever making and retracting the complaint.
In her decision, Justice Elizabeth Raper agreed that only one of the posts carried the imputation that MacInenss retracted her accusation, but ruled that the post in question was not defamatory. “I am satisfied that an ordinary, reasonable reader would have understood from the 23 September 2024 Post that Ms MacInnes has changed her story about feeling uncomfortable about what happened with the producer in the bathroom.” Justice Raper said. “However, the imputation is not defamatory (…) I do not accept that the assertion of someone changing their story, for which there could be innumerable reasons why they did, determined objectively by reference to community standards, is defamatory.”
For the other social media posts, Justice Raper agreed with Wilson that none of the imputations was conveyed.On the question of whether the posts damaged MacInnes’s reputation, Justice Raper disagreed with MacInnes’s legal team, stating her arguments did not satisfy the standard of where her reputation suffered or if there were any reputational damages, addressing the fact that when the posts were first published, MacInnes appeared in an American stage performance of Gatsby, signed a co-publishing deal, and was in negotations with a record label that resulted in a development deal. Justice Raper agreed with Wilson that no evidence proved the posts impacted MacInnes’ reputation, stating “I do not accept that the impugned publication has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to Ms MacInnes’ reputation.”
“Accordingly, for this reason, Ms MacInnes’ claim must fail.”
MacInnes wanted the substantive law of the claims to be the law of Western Australia, a request dismissed by Justice Raper as she considered that most of the harm and publication happened in New South Wales. Under the laws of Western Australia, the burden of proof that MacInnes’s reputation suffered from the posts would have been lower.
Shortly after the judgment, Wilson celebrated on social media, saying, “Thank you to the judge and the Australian legal system for this substantial win today in THE DEB matter: Look forward to moving on!”
MacInnes’s application was dismissed, and Justice Raper ordered her to pay Wilson’s costs.
According to ABC News, MacInnes’s legal team is considering appealing against the decision.
Header image: AAP Graphics
