Rebel Wilson Memoir: Is Sacha Baron Cohen Trying To Block It?
Is Sacha Baron Cohen trying to block the Rebel Wilson memoir? She’s saying that he is. The Pitch Perfect alum called out Sacha Baron Cohen on social media for trying to silence her with threats to stop her from publishing Rebel Rising. Taking to her Instagram Stories around midnight Monday (March 25), Wilson, 44, wrote: “I will not be bullied or silenced with high priced lawyer or PR crisis managers. The ‘a–hole’ that I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is Sacha Baron Cohen.”
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The Australian actress had previously referred to an unidentified “massive a–hole” whom she had once worked with, adding that the star had hired a crisis PR team and had started sending her threats after she claimed she would dedicate a whole chapter to him in her memoir and expose his behavior. Wilson and Baron Cohen starred together in a 2016 comedy called The Brothers Grimsby.
In the R-rated comedy, Wilson plays Dawn, the girlfriend of Cohen’s dimwitted Kyle Alan “Nobby” Butcher, who assumes the role of an MI6 operative after he attempts to reconnect with his estranged brother Sebastian Graves (Mark Strong). The film also stars Penélope Cruz, Sam Hazeldine and Cohen’s real-life wife Isla Fisher.
Per Variety, Wilson alleged in a since-deleted Story: “Now the a–hole is trying to threaten me. He’s hired a crisis PR manager and lawyers. He’s trying to stop [the] press coming out about my new book. But the book WILL come out and you will all know the truth.”
No A-Hole Policy
In a March 15 Instagram post, Wilson said in a video: “When I first came to Hollywood, people were like, yeah, ‘I have a no a–hole policy, means like, yeah, I don’t work with a–holes.’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah? Yeah, I mean, that sounds sensible or logical. But then it really sunk in with their meaning with that, older people in the industry, because I worked with a massive a–hole, and yeah, now I definitely have a no a–holes policy.” The Borat star will be in chapter 23, Rebel adds.
One person commented, “Hope he’s still alive so he can enjoy the read like the rest of us. Love it when someone actually names names….. and doesn’t keep us guessing! Ordered!” Another said, “Love that you say who it is. Good for you.” A third knew it was Cohen and wrote: “Sacha Baron Cohen. This has been reported on before.” The fan was referring to a 2014 interview Wilson spoke about the role in Brothers Grimsby where Baron Cohen was trying to pressure her to “just go naked” for laughs in the movie. Using his past nudity in Borat as an example, on the last day of filming, he got a body double to do the naked scene for her character in Grimsby.
Rebel’s Yell
The Australian actress threatened to call the agent they share and tell her that he was “harassing” her. However, when it came to shooting the final scene in the Brothers Grimsby, Wilson claimed that Baron Cohen asked her to “stick your finger up my butt.” As that wasn’t in the script, Wilson told her co-star, to which he allegedly replied, “Look, I’ll just pull down my pants, you just stick your finger up my butt, it’ll be a really funny bit.”
Responding to Rebel, a spokesperson for the British actor, 52, said in a statement to the New York Post: “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’s memoir Rebel Rising is scheduled to hit bookshelves on April 2. You can pre-order the book here.
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