Rebel Wilson fans in the U.K. will read a different version of her memoir, Rebel Rising, as it will not feature her allegations against Sacha Baron Cohen.
“We are publishing every page, but for legal reasons, in the U.K. edition, we are redacting most of one page with some other small redactions and an explanatory note,” a spokesperson for Harper Collins told The New York Times in a statement on Thursday, April 25. “Those sections are a very small part of a much bigger story.”
The international release dates of Rebel Rising had been halted following a legal battle between Baron Cohen, 52, and Wilson’s publishers.
Wilson, 44, made headlines earlier this month when she accused Baron Cohen of harassment on the set of their 2016 film The Brothers Grimsby. Wilson claimed Baron Cohen — who wrote, produced and starred in the film — asked her to take off her clothes despite her “no nudity” rule.
“I 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,’” she added in the memoir.
Wilson alleged that Baron Cohen asked her to “stick her finger up his ass because he thought it would make a funny scene in the film,” claiming, “it felt like [he] had sexually harassed me.”
Baron Cohen has denied the accusations. “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,” a rep for the actor told Us Weekly.
Wilson noted that “this is not about canceling someone,” during an interview with The New York Times earlier this month. “It’s part of my story — my memoir,” she said. “And I’m allowed to write about what happened to me, and how that made me feel.”
Since Wilson’s memoir was published, Baron Cohen and actress Isla Fisher — who share three children — announced their decision to divorce after 14 years of marriage. After their breakup announcement, a source exclusively told Us that their split had “nothing to do” with Wilson’s memoir allegations.
“They have been living separate lives since last year but wanted to give this space and time for their children to be OK with this before the news came out and they got all this attention,” an insider told Us. “They are notoriously very private people and wanted to focus on their family.”
