Rebel Wilson has doubled down on the claims of harassment against her The Brothers Grimsby co-star Sacha Baren Cohen. After accusing him of s*xually harassing her on the set of their movie, Wilson now claims that The Dictator actor ridiculed her for her size in the film. She added that the film even chose costumes that exploited her size and made her something to be laughed at.
Cohen and the film’s producers have since denied the allegations of s*xual harassment. In a video leaked to the press from the film’s set, Wilson was seen in agreement with Cohen in the alleged scene. Wilson responded that it was an “a**hole move” to share the video out of context.
Rebel Wilson Felt Ashamed Of Herself For Returning To Shoot After The Humiliation
Ahead of the release of her memoir, Rebel Rising, Rebel Wilson named Sacha Baron Cohen as the actor whom she accused of s*xually harassing her. An excerpt from the book revealed that an “a**hole” co-star had asked her to stick her finger up his behind for a scene. Cohen and Wilson worked together in the 2016 film, The Brothers Grimsby.
Cohen and the producers of the film have denied that any harassment took place on the sets of her movie. In a new interview to promote her memoir with The Times newspaper, Wilson shared that she was disrespected on set. While she did not address the s*xual harassment claims in the interview, she shared that the Borat actor humiliated her for her size when they worked together.
Wilson claimed that her size was exploited for comedy in the film, but she felt even more humiliated by Cohen’s fat-shaming. She further shared that her costumes in the film gave unnecessary attention to her thighs and her arms, intending to evoke laughter out of her size. She regretted returning to film the reshoots of the movie. She shared with The Times:
“It’s one thing for someone who is fat to exploit their size for comedy, but it’s another for somebody else to humiliate you. [My costumes were chosen to] see all the cellulite on my thighs and a top to show the fattest part of my arm… like I was something to be laughed at and degraded because of my size. […] The fact that I then went back… Why do I have such low self-worth?”
Wilson also claimed in her interview that she was asked to run naked across a football pitch for a scene in the film, but she refused. She added that a stripper was brought in to complete the scene while she was asked to watch it on a monitor. A clip appeared on The Daily Mail UK on Friday from the film that allegedly contradicted Wilson’s harassment claims.
Leaked Film Video Apparently Contradicts Rebel Wilson’s Claims
On Friday, The Daily Mail published a video from The Brothers Grimsby set, filmed on a mobile phone, that showed Wilson apparently in agreement with Sacha Baron Cohen in the scene. In the video, Wilson was heard telling Cohen, “I’ll do a slap [of your butt], and I’ll do a — going down the crack.” The Spy actor responds, “It’s almost as if you’re going to ram your fingers inside.”
Rebel Wilson gave a statement to the news outlet in response to the video, sharing that the video had been edited and shared out of context. She revealed that it was an “a**hole move” to release only part of the video while leaving out everything that preceded it. She added that such tactics were Cohen’s new way of bullying and gaslighting her. She shared:
“It is an a**hole move to release footage of one part of that disgusting episode while leaving out everything that preceded it including my horrified refusal to stick my finger up SBC’s butt. […] Releasing unauthorised and misleading behind the scenes video without my approval is SBC’s latest way of bullying and gaslighting me.”
Cohen earlier made a statement through his representatives that the claims made by Wilson were “demonstrably false” and “directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence” (via BBC). Wilson’s memoir, Rebel Rising, will be out on April 2, 2024.
