Rebel Wilson Beat the Defamation Suit Brought by Charlotte Macinnes, the 25-Year-Old Lead of Wilson’s Directorial Debut ‘the Deb.’

The whole case turned on a cold-water bath at Bondi Beach. A judge just ruled that Wilson told the truth about it, and MacInnes has to pay her legal costs.

Justice Elizabeth Raper of the Federal Court of Australia dismissed every claim MacInnes brought and ordered her to cover Wilson’s legal bills.

The dispute traced back to Sept. 5, 2023. MacInnes and “The Deb” producer Amanda Ghost went swimming at Bondi Beach, then returned to their Sydney apartment, where Ghost said she had a severe reaction to the cold water and the two got into a bath together in their swimsuits. Wilson said MacInnes told her the next day the situation had made her uncomfortable, then later walked that back. MacInnes denied ever complaining.

MacInnes had sued over four sets of Instagram posts published between September 2024 and July 2025, arguing they cast her as someone who changed her story to help her career. Raper found only one post carried a defamatory meaning, then ruled it wasn’t defamatory anyway: saying someone changed their story wouldn’t necessarily make a reasonable person think less of them.

The judge went further and found Wilson’s account substantially true. She called MacInnes and Ghost “unreliable historians,” and found Ghost, then 49, had put the 25-year-old MacInnes in an awkward and stressful position by making her care for her during the episode. The court was never asked to decide whether Ghost’s behavior was sexual, and made no finding of sexual harassment.

MacInnes’ claim that the posts cost her work also collapsed. She signed with Atlantic Records in October 2025 and released two singles, and her agent couldn’t name a single lost opportunity.

“This has been a long process and throughout I have tried to stay grounded in my values and what I believed was right,” Wilson said in a statement. On Instagram she added that she was “grateful this chapter has reached its conclusion” and looking forward to “what I love most, my family and my work.”

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