New details have emerged from a chapter of Rebel Wilson’s forthcoming memoir in which she writes about the way she was allegedly treated by Sacha Baron Cohen on the set of a movie they starred in together several years ago.
The book has been generating headlines since last week, when Wilson publicly claimed an unnamed Hollywood “asshole” was attempting to stop press coverage of her work. She later revealed that the “‘asshole’ that I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen.”
“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,” a spokesperson for Baron Cohen told The Daily Beast on Monday.
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People has now published details from the chapter from Wilson’s book, Rebel Rising, about the production of the R-rated comedy film. She has previously spoken about her experiences on set.
Once filming commenced, Wilson reportedly writes, “It felt like every time I’d speak to SBC, he’d mention that he wanted me to go naked in a future scene. I was like, ‘Ha, I don’t do nudity, Sacha.’”
While filming at a soccer stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, Wilson writes that she was summoned by Baron Cohen through a production assistant “saying that I’m needed to film an additional scene.”
“‘Okay, well, we’re gonna film this extra scene,’ SBC says,” Wilson writes. “Then he pulls his pants down ... SBC says very matter-of-factly: ‘Okay, now I want you to stick your finger up my ass.’ And I’m like, ‘What?? ... No!!’”
She reportedly went on to say in her book that she was “scared.” “I wanted to get out of there, so I finally compromised: I slapped him on the ass and improvised a few lines as the character.”
Representatives for Baron Cohen gave People the same statement denying Wilson’s allegations. They also provided the magazine with anonymous statements purportedly from people who also worked on the film, including five who said they’d witnessed the Cape Town scene and disputed Wilson’s version of what happened.
An unnamed producer said Wilson had “read and approved” the script in advance, and that it had contained the detail of her character “attempting to put a finger in Sacha’s character’s butt.” “At no point did Sacha actually ask her to put a finger in his butt,” the anonymous producer reportedly wrote, adding that Wilson was “treated with the utmost respect and empowerment.”
A writer-producer similarly claimed the scene was scripted. Wilson’s sister, Liberty, and a friend told People that Wilson spoke to them shortly after the Cape Town incident and told them what happened.
Wilson reportedly writes in her book that she spoke to her agent and a lawyer and that she was encouraged to “be professional and finish the film,” and that she later sought to deal with what happened by trying to laugh it off.
After reshoots—allegedly included a sex scene—and several months, Wilson writes, “It really sank in that all this wasn’t something that could be laughed off. I relayed to the producers that I would not be doing any promotion for the film.”
She reportedly continues by noting that the movie “bombed, which to me was karma enough.” “I’m not about canceling anybody and that’s not my motivation for sharing this story,” she wrote, according to People. “I’m sharing my story now because the more women talk about things like this, hopefully the less it happens.”
