Rebel Wilson has revealed she felt a sense of ‘shame’ for continuing to work with Sacha Baron Cohen after claiming he sexually harassed her on the set of 2016’s Grimsby – accusations the actor strenuously denies.
The Aussie actress, 44, claimed in her autobiography Rebel Rising that the Borat actor, 52, asked her to strip off for scenes despite her contracts bearing ‘no nudity’ clauses and made sexually explicit requests.
Now Rebel told the The Sun that she felt shame for not doing more at the time of the supposed incident and claimed she was convinced to continue by her agent, who also represented Baron Cohen.
Saying: ‘What I should have done is left that set — the moment that first act happened, I should have left.
‘I should have just gone back to the hotel, demanded to leave and never come back.
Rebel Wilson, 44, has revealed she felt a sense of ‘shame’ following claims Sacha Baron Cohen sexually harassed her on the set of 2016’s Grimsby – accusations the actor strenuously denies (pictured earlier this week)
The Aussie actress claimed in her autobiography Rebel Rising that the Borat actor, 52, asked her to strip off for scenes despite her contracts bearing ‘no nudity’ clauses and made sexually explicit requests (pictured together in the film)
Baron Cohen announced earlier this week that he and wife Isla Fisher, 48, were breaking up . With sources suggesting that the A-list marriage had been troubled for some time, and that bombshell allegations were a ‘catalyst’ for the break-up (pictured in January)
‘But we had the same agent at the time, and I was kind of, you know, talked around into, “Well, just be professional And if anything else happens, then you can leave”‘.
Baron Cohen announced earlier this week that he and wife Isla Fisher, 48, were breaking up, with sources suggesting that the A-list marriage had been troubled for some time and that bombshell allegations were a ‘catalyst’ for the break-up.
It comes after Rebel said she had been contacted by several other women since claiming to have been sexually harassed by the Ali G performer, claiming ‘the truth will come out’.
Representatives for Baron Cohen say he denies any allegations of mistreatment or harassment towards Rebel on the set of 2016 action comedy flick Grimsby, released in North America as The Brothers Grimsby.
Rebel said other women have ‘been in contact’ with her since she made the claims in her new autobiography, Rebel Rising. There is no suggestion at this time that the women are making claims against the Borat actor.
In a new interview Rebel said the women who had contacted her were still considering whether to go public with their own allegations – the exact details of which, and to whom they refer, are unclear.
She continued: ‘It is hard to say something against somebody who’s high profile, because they hit you with high-price lawyers and crisis PR people and all sorts of little tricks.
‘It doesn’t feel great when all I’m doing is sharing my story in my memoir, which I’m very entitled to do.
Now Rebel said she felt shame for not doing more at the time of the supposed incident and claimed she was convinced to continue by her agent, who also represented Baron Cohen
Saying: ‘What I should have done is left that set — the moment that first act happened, I should have left’
‘But I always think that the truth will come out which is why it’s great to have the book out now so people don’t just read the headlines, but can read the actual chapter.’
The remarks, first reported by The Sun, come after days of frenetic speculation over Baron Cohen’s marriage after Rebel’s book was released.
She had played Baron Cohen’s on-screen girlfriend in Grimsby, a box office flop that was derided by critics.
The film saw Baron Cohen’s football fan character Nobby get drawn into the world of espionage; it also starred Isla, Mark Strong, Penelope Cruz, Ricky Tomlinson and Johnny Vegas.
Rebel claimed in the memoir that during filming he would ask her to strip off for scenes, in violation of her ‘no nudity’ clause, and requested that she perform a sex act involving his bottom on camera because it would be ‘funny’.
She wrote that his actions made her feel ‘completely disrespected, which led to me treating myself with even more disrespect by eating in an extremely unhealthy way’.
Bridesmaid actress Rebel said she eventually compromised and agreed to ‘slap him on the a**’ in an improvised scene, and agreed to it after several rewrites.
But behind-the-scenes footage released after the claims were made appeared to suggest she was on board with the scene – a suggestion she has vehemently denied.
‘It is an a****** move to release footage of one part of that disgusting episode while leaving out everything that preceded it,’ she said in a statement, adding that her ‘horrified refusal’ to carry out the act was not included in the released footage.
She added: ‘What this edited video shows is what I had to do in order to get out of the room, as written in Rebel Rising.
It comes after Rebel posed up a storm in a satin green dress while lying on the sofa, with the caption: ‘What a week!’ as she referred to the attention her book has gained
‘Releasing unauthorized and misleading behind the scenes video without my approval is SBC’s (Sacha Baron Cohen’s) latest way of bullying and gaslighting me.’
Rebel appears to have alluded to the incident in the past, discussing similar circumstances it in a discussion with British TV personality Ant Middleton for his podcast Straight Talking in 2021.
She did not name any alleged harasser at the time. Asked if she reported the incident, she told Middleton: ‘I called my agent immediately and said this happened. We made an official complaint to the studio.
‘But I’m such a professional that I was like, well I’m still going to continue with the job. Which now I might not have.’
She then claimed: ‘Things that happened to me aren’t that severe, but I’m still scared of naming the people.’
Rebel also shared a link on her story to her live show in Los Angeles where she will sit down for an in person with conversation with Jess Cagle to discuss her controversial new memoir
After posting a link to tickets for the show, the star also revealed that while the book is available to buy in the US, it isn’t quite ready for sale in the UK and Australia
Isla and UK-born Sacha met at a party in Sydney in 2001 and married nine years later
Isla confirmed the split on Instagram with a snap of the pair in tennis outfits and wrote: ‘After a long tennis match lasting over 20 years, we are finally putting our racquets down’
Rebel played Sacha’s on-screen girlfriend in the 2016 Louis Leterrier-directed film and has made a series of allegations about her uncomfortable experience during shooting
Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher announced their split on Friday, days after Rebel’s claims were first made after her book was published in the US.
The release of the memoir in the UK and Australia had been ‘momentarily delayed by an a****** but not for long‘, Rebel said on social media.
The book’s publisher, Harper Collins Australia, told Yahoo Lifestyle: ‘Publication of Rebel Rising has been delayed but we have no further comment.’
The pair announced the end of their marriage – seemingly decided last year – with a bizarre picture of themselves in tennis outfits on Instagram.
‘After a long tennis match lasting over 20 years, we are finally putting our racquets down,’ the caption accompanying the picture read.
‘In 2023 we jointly filed to end our marriage. We have always prioritized our privacy and have been quietly working through this change.
‘We forever share in our devotion and love for our children. We sincerely appreciate your respecting our family’s wish for privacy.’
However, insiders close to the couple tonight claimed that Cohen and Fisher had been struggling with their ‘shaky’ marriage for years.
Insiders said Cohen had reportedly struggled after making the ‘sacrifice’ to relocate their family to Australia back in 2020.
And a source told The Sun Isla was ‘starting to get embarrassed’ about the claims in the book, which acted as ‘a catalyst’ in her decision to announce their split and allowed her to protect her ‘own career and reputation’.
Another source close to the couple added that the ‘decision wasn’t taken lightly’ and there is ‘still a lot of love’ between Isla and Sacha, who ‘remain incredibly close’.
Representatives for Baron Cohen have been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the actor previously 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.’
Wilson herself broke her silence on social media after the allegations first came to light with a video of herself posing in a satin green dress.
The Instagram clip was simply titled: ‘What a week! I need a lie down on the couch now… for real! Thank you so much to everyone who has bought REBEL RISING and is already enjoying it! Love you.’
Baron Cohen, meanwhile, was reported last year as preparing to take some of his best-known characters on tour, including Ali G.
A live stand-up tour featuring the character was said to be in the works as of August last year, with the actor reportedly testing performances of Ali G and Kazakhstan journalist character Borat at a comedy club in Sydney in 2021.
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