Rebel Wilson’s memoir Rebel Rising has hit some legal snags in its journey to United Kingdom and her native Australian bookshelves, and now that the book has finally been released in the U.K. (the Australian release has been delayed until August 2024, according to the publisher’s website), the Sacha Baron Cohen chapter looks a lot different from the one released in the U.S.
The book has been published in the UK with Wilson’s claims against Baron Cohen—namely, that he’d asked her to perform a sexual act on him in front of other crew members on set of their film Grimsby—covered by black bars, The Daily Beast has confirmed. Getty photos of the book show the pages of the book with Wilson’s Baron Cohen claims unreadable. According to U.K. paper The Telegraph, the redaction was the work of Baron Cohen’s attorneys.
"A woman reading a copy of Rebel Rising by Rebel Wilson, the headline-making memoir has been published in the UK with allegations about the actor Sacha Baron Cohen redacted for legal reasons. Picture date: Monday April 22, 2024. (Photo by Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images)"
Jonathan Brady - PA ImagesReps for Cohen previously told The Daily Beast that Wilson’s claims were “demonstrably false,” and added, “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.” They did not offer any additional on the record comment about the book redaction.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wilson has been in a public feud with Baron Cohen ever since she posted to Instagram that she’d be naming a certain “asshole” in her upcoming book, after which Wilson alleged that Baron Cohen had tried to stop the release by sending a crisis manager after her. Wilson vowed afterward that she wouldn’t be silenced, and told her social media followers “You will all know the truth.”
Since the book’s U.S. release, that “truth” has been all over the media, with Wilson often recounting her “horrifying” experience on the Grimsby set in various interviews, detailing how Baron Cohen asked her to “stick a finger up his butt” while his “friends” taped it with their iPhones. After the accusation was made public, Baron Cohen’s team began circulating various anonymous firsthand accounts from crew members who worked on the film, who all contradict Wilson’s claims.
Baron Cohen’s team also emailed The Daily Beast a script excerpt, which detailed the scene for the film (and which they believe shows Wilson knew why the comments were made to her and why the scene in question was being shot with iPhones). Later, an edited video of the scene in question was sent to the DailyMail, which Wilson responded was done to “gaslight” her.
Though the events of that day have been reduced to he-said, she-said, Baron Cohen’s team has continued to work against the book’s release in Australia and the U.K. with Wilson’s press tours for the book in her home country getting delayed or canceled. Wilson had announced that the delays were due to scheduling issues, but one source told Australian outlet 7News the publication delay in the country was due to “legal issues” with the book.
At least some of that seems to be confirmed with the new development that Rebel Rising will approach its new release date on April 25 in redacted form. Whether or not the Australian release will follow suit remains to be seen, and with a delay until at least August 2024, it could very well be a long time before it’s known either way.
The Daily Beast reached out to HarperCollins and representatives for Sacha Baron Cohen and Rebel Wilson.
