Rebel Wilson has named Sacha Baron Cohen, with whom she worked with in the 2016 film The Brothers Grimsby (known as Grimsby in the UK), whom she describes as a “huge asshole”, in her upcoming memoir, Rebel Rising. Referred to as.
The Australian actor also claims that the Borat star is attempting to stop the book’s publication.
Writing on Instagram today, Wilson said: “I will not be bullied or silenced by expensive lawyers or PR crisis managers. The ‘asshole’ I talk about in a chapter of my book is Sacha Baron Cohen.
In a statement shared with the Guardian, Baron Cohen’s representatives strongly rejected allegations of bad behavior on set, saying:
Although we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these patently false claims are directly refuted by extensive detailed evidence, including contemporaneous documents from people present before, during and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby. Includes film footage and eyewitness accounts.
In a previous Instagram post, Wilson claimed that the “big asshole” she once worked with had hired a crisis PR team and she claimed they would be the subject of a chapter in her book, After which he started sending threats to her. “He’s trying to stop the press from getting information about my new book,” she wrote. “But the book will come out and you all will know the truth.”
Taking to Instagram ten days ago, Wilson said: “When I first came to Hollywood, people were like, yeah, ‘I have a no idiot policy, which means, yeah, I don’t work with idiots.’ I was like, ‘Oh yes. I mean, it sounds sensible or logical. But then it really sunk in because I worked with a big ass and yes, now I definitely have a no idiot policy.
Wilson and Baron Cohen starred together as husband and wife in Grimsby, and Wilson has previously discussed her experiences making the film, saying that Baron had previously hired a body double when he refused. Cohen encouraged her to undress completely.
Speaking on the Kyle and Jackie O radio show in Australia in 2014 (Grimsby had a long period in post-production), Wilson said that Baron Cohen was so persistent that she told him she would call their shared agent and tell him. That’s how much you are troubling me.”
She added: “Every day he says, ‘Just get naked, it’ll be fun. Remember in Borat when I did that nude scene? it was hilarious.’ On the last day I felt I had clearly won the debate and they got a body double to do the nude scenes.
Wilson also alleged that Baron Cohen asked her to put his finger in her bottom in the final scene. “And I said, ‘What do you mean Sacha? That’s not in the script.’
“And he said, ‘Look, I’ll just pull my pants down, you just put your finger in my butt, that would be really weird.'” Wilson said they eventually reached an agreement: “You will not do that. I want to be a diva so I … said I’ll smack your ass and that’s it,'” Wilson said.
Grimsby, which co-starred Isla Fisher and Mark Strong, is widely considered to be the worst moment of Baron Cohen’s screen career. Speaking to the Guardian in 2021, Baron Cohen said:
“Any flop is difficult. But looking back, the experience was great. I was on the path to being a comedy movie star in Hollywood where you make a certain amount of movies that have to do well at the box office. The best thing about being a complete bomb was getting rid of it.”
