Rebel Wilson claims she was pressured into doing an intimate scene with Sacha Baron Cohen in the 2016 spy action comedy The Brothers Grimbsy.
In an excerpt shared exclusively by People, Wilson recounted the alleged experience in her new memoir, Rebel Rising. In Grimbsy, Wilson played Dawn Grobham, the girlfriend of Cohen's character, Kyle Alan "Nobby" Butcher. While the film initially seemed like a good opportunity after the two met at a dinner party in 2013, it soon went sour, as Wilson claimed that Cohen would make inappropriate requests to her on-set.
“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 wrote in Rebel Rising.
During production in Cape Town, South Africa one day, Wilson says she was pulled aside by a production assistant at Cohen's request. Once with Cohen, Wilson alleges he made another improper gesture.
"‘Okay, well, we’re gonna film this extra scene,’ SBC says. Then he pulls his pants down ... SBC says very matter-of-factly: ‘Okay, now I want you to stick your finger up my ass.’ And I’m like, ‘What?? ... No!!’ ..." Wilson wrote.
The actress 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."
Afterwards, Wilson says that she was urged to "‘be professional and finish the film,'" after contacting her agent and lawyer. "After that, my way of dealing with it at that point was to try to laugh it off," Wilson continued.
"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.
Declining to partake in promotion for Grimbsy, Wilson called the film's box office bombing "karma enough." "I’m not about canceling anybody and that’s not my motivation for sharing this story," she added. "I’m sharing my story now because the more women talk about things like this, hopefully the less it happens."
Per CNN, Wilson claimed that Cohen tried to prevent her from releasing Rebel Rising. "I will not be bullied or silenced with [a] high priced lawyer or PR crisis managers,” Wilson wrote on Instagram. “The ‘asshole’ that I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is Sacha Baron Cohen."
On behalf of a spokesperson, Cohen denied Wilson's allegations, also providing anonymous statements from nine individuals who had on-set involvement with Grimsby. Five people claimed that they were present for the Cape Town scene and witnessed nothing unprofessional between Cohen and Wilson.
"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 stated.
