Rebel Wilson Loses Bid to Dismiss ‘Deb’ Producers’ Suit

Rebel Wilsonsuppress hopes Deb The producers’ libel suit against her was blocked by a Los Angeles judge.

“Because the court finds that the statements are not protected activity covered by an anti-SLAPP motion, the court does not proceed to the second step of analyzing plaintiffs’ likelihood of prevailing on the merits,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas ruled. D. Long last night, confirming his preliminary assumptions made earlier on November 21st. “Accordingly, the anti-SLAPP motion is hereby rejected.”

“The fact that the defendant’s statements accuse the plaintiff of criminal conduct makes them, on their face, defamatory,” he said.

The decision came after a lengthy hearing in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, which pitted lawyers for Amanda Gost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden face-to-face Pitch perfect star over Wilson’s claims of “vile and disgusting behavior” earlier this year against producers.

In an Instagram video, Wilson criticized the trio for allegedly embezzling money from the musical comedy, threatening to cancel the film, and also engaging in sexual harassment of one of the lead actors. No stranger to a public showdown or two (just ask Sacha Baron Cohen or Australian authorities over Deb writing credits), Wilson made accusations against Ghost, Cameron and Holden back in July, when it seemed that Deb was going to lose the prime minister’s place on Toronto International Film Festival.

Portraying Wilson as “spreading vicious lies with no regard for the irreparable damage that her reckless words would cause to Plaintiffs’ hard-earned personal and professional reputations,” the trio of producers sued. Deb director and actor July 12. They also released a statement Deb actress Charlotte McInnes claims there was no sexual misconduct between her and Phantom, contrary to Wilson’s claims.

Taking to social media again, Wilson said online on July 31 that she was speaking “the truth about these absolute assholes.” She followed this up more formally by filing her own counter-complaint on 26 September, immediately after Deb still shown at TIFF.

Which brings us to this week and Wilson’s failure to convince a judge that her remarks about producers were in the “public interest” and therefore protected by the “constitutional right to free speech in connection with a public matter.”

Outside the court, the significance of this decision remains. Deb it hasn’t been seen since its debut on the closing night of this year’s TIFF. Even with the Wilson Agency VME trying to sell a painting and financier Len Blavatnik investing millions into the film. hardly anyone will touch Deb until the legal battle is over.

And this, given that Wilson plans to appeal, may take some time.

“We are very satisfied with the court’s decision. Defendant Rebel Wilson’s anti-SLAPP motion was a cynical attempt to stifle a legitimate lawsuit after she launched a public attack on three hard-working professionals,” said the producer’s lead attorney, Camille Vasquez. “We are grateful to the court for reaching the correct legal result and allowing the claim to proceed. We look forward to seeing Ms. Wilson in court.”

Both sides agree that the upcoming legal face-offs will continue.

“No California court has ever held that a demand letter sent by a celebrity while awaiting trial is not, or ceases to be, a ‘matter of public interest’ simply because the receiving party later shared it with the media as part of obtaining the party’s response documents.” ” – Wilson’s chief lawyer Brian Friedman told Deadline today.

“The act of issuing a demand letter in anticipation of trial, which is subsequently published during the trial, inherently establishes its connection with the trial and is thus of clear public interest,” added the lawyer who participated in the DTLA hearings in Thursday. “We are more than confident that the Court of Appeal will correct this error, but are disappointed that Deb will continue to suffer from this nonsense.”

Which means there will be more of this. Deb the dispute will make its debut in the courts in the coming months.