Rebel Wilson detailed an alleged uncomfortable encounter with Sacha Baron Cohen where he exposed ass in an excerpt from her forthcoming memoir.
“It felt like every time I’d speak to SBC, he’d mention that he wanted me to go naked in a future scene. I was like, ‘Ha, I don’t do nudity, Sacha,’” Wilson, 44, claimed in a snippet of her book, Rebel Rising, released by People on Tuesday, March 26.
Wilson was referring to filming The Brothers Grimsby in 2016 with Baron Cohen, 52, noting that while they were in Cape Town she was allegedly summoned “via a production assistant” for an additional scene.
“‘OK, well, we’re gonna film this extra scene,’ SBC says. Then he pulls his pants down,” Wilson wrote. “SBC says very matter-of-factly: ‘OK, now I want you to stick your finger up my ass.’ And I’m like, ‘What?? … No!!’”
She continued: “I was now scared. I wanted to get out of there, so I finally compromised: I slapped him on the ass and improvised a few lines as the character.”
Wilson further claimed that she was asked to do reshoots on the project and a sex scene, which made her uncomfortable.
“I filmed the scene, after demanding rewrites. But I still had to simulate having sex with this guy. I still had to kiss him repeatedly,” she wrote of the experience, noting that a few months later, “It really sank in that all this wasn’t something that could be laughed off. I relayed to the producers that I would not be doing any promotion for the film.”
The actress noted that the “movie bombed,” which she thought was “karma enough” for the ordeal.
“I’m not about canceling anybody and that’s not my motivation for sharing this story,” she concluded. “I’m sharing my story now because the more women talk about things like this, hopefully the less it happens.”
Wilson’s upcoming memoir, Rebel Rising, made headlines earlier this month when she said she once worked with a “massive a–hole.”
“When I first came to Hollywood, people were like, ‘I have a no a–holes policy, meaning I don’t work with a–holes.’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah. I mean that sounds sensible, logical,’” she said in an Instagram Video. “Then it really sunk in what they were meaning by that: Older people in the industry.”
She added, “And yeah, now I definitely have a no a–holes policy. The chapter on said a–hole is Chapter 23 [in my memoir]. That guy was a massive a–hole.”
After Wilson publicly shared her allegations, she claimed that she was being harassed by her former costar to stop publication of her memoir.
“I wrote about an a–hole in my book. Now, said a–hole is trying to threaten me. He’s hired a crisis PR manager and lawyers,” Wilson wrote via Instagram Story. “He is trying to stop press coming out about my book. But the book WILL come out and you will all know the truth. Rebel xoxo.”
Wilson later revealed that she was referring to Baron Cohen, with whom she starred alongside in the 2016 film The Brothers Grimsby. A rep for Baron Cohen subsequently addressed the controversy in a statement to Us Weekly.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
Wilson shared that any attempt of Baron Cohen to silence her won’t stop her from publishing her memoir. “Thanks so much to everyone who has sent gorgeous messages of support in the last few days and to those who shared with me their stories of this a–hole!” Wilson wrote via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, March 26. “Don’t worry I won’t be bullied or threatened by this guy! And [I] am working behind the scenes to make sure my book comes out!”
She noted that her memoir is “not about Baron Cohen,” clarifying, “This is one chapter.”
Wilson previously accused Baron Cohen of harassment after filming The Brothers Grimsby.
“Sacha is so outrageous. Every day he’s like, ‘Just go naked, it will be funny.’ And I’m, like, ‘No!’” Wilson claimed during a 2014 appearance on Australian radio’s Kyle and Jackie O Show. “Sacha and I have the same agent in America and I’m like, ‘Sacha, I’m going to call our agent Sharon and tell her how much you are harassing me.’”
She continued, “He was like, ‘Rebel, can you just stick your finger up my butt?’ And I went, ‘What do you mean, Sacha? That’s not in the script.’ And he’s like, ‘Look, I’ll just pull down my pants, you just stick your finger up my butt, it’ll be a really funny bit.’”
Rebel Rising hits shelves on Tuesday, April 2.
