The Biggest Revelations From Rebel Wilson's Memoir—Including ...

4 Apr 2024

Forbes

Topline

Rebel Wilson, the Australian actress best known for her role in the “Pitch Perfect” film series, released her memoir “Rebel Rising” this week in which she made accusations of inappropriate behavior on set against former co-star Sacha Baron Cohen, among other revelations about her weight loss journey and sexuality.

Rebel Wilson's memoir "Rebel Rising" released in the United States this week. (Photo by Mark ... [+] Metcalfe/Getty Images for AFI)

Getty Images for AFI Key Facts

In one chapter of “Rebel Rising,” Wilson accused Baron Cohen of inappropriate behavior while filming “The Brothers Grimsby” (2016), alleging he asked her to perform a sexual act that was not scripted while filming a sex scene (Baron Cohen’s representatives have called the accusations “demonstrably false”).

Wilson claimed Adele “hates” her because the singer would allegedly turn away when she saw Wilson in public, which Wilson said she thinks is because Adele did not want to be compared to her “Fat Amy” character from “Pitch Perfect”—though Wilson admitted she has never spoken to the singer.

Wilson said her agents discouraged her from losing weight because she often secured “fat funny girl” roles, writing that she felt she was stuck in a “multimillion-dollar pigeonhole.”

Wilson also detailed discovering her attraction to women, stating she dated a professional female tennis player (whom she declined to name) before becoming engaged to Ramona Agruma in 2023.

She revealed she lost her virginity at age 35 to her then-boyfriend, actor Mickey Gooch Jr., which she said she was hesitant to share, but stated she wanted to include that story to make others feel less alone.

Key Background

Wilson called out Baron Cohen by name on her Instagram more than a week before her book hit shelves. She initially said in a video posted March 15 she worked with a “massive asshole,” teasing that she would write about it in her book, clarifying in an Instagram story March 24 that Baron Cohen was the “asshole” she was referring to. She accused Baron Cohen of attempting to stop her from publishing her book through legal threats, which Baron Cohen’s representatives denied in a statement to NBC News. On Friday, the Daily Mail published video footage it claims is of Wilson appearing to consent to slapping and touching Baron Cohen’s rear end during the scene. In a statement to USA Today, Wilson slammed the video footage, claiming it leaves out crucial information “including my horrified refusal to stick my finger up SBC's butt.” Wilson accused the video of being edited and stated she did “what I had to do in order to get out of the room.” Wilson reportedly first tweeted about Baron Cohen’s on-set behavior in 2017 without naming him. Wilson’s X account is now deactivated, but a People Magazine article from November 2017 reported that in a series of tweets, she said a “male star, in a position of power, asked me to go into a room with him and then asked me repeatedly to stick my finger up his asshole.”

Surprising Fact

The publication of Wilson’s memoir in the United Kingdom and Australia was pushed back by three weeks, to April 25. The book’s publisher, HarperCollins, told the BBC the release "has been moved to coincide with Rebel Wilson's press tours." The book was released in the United States on April 2.

Tangent

Wilson’s memoir follows a hot streak for celebrity memoirs in 2023, many of which sold well and garnered significant media attention. Last year’s best-selling celebrity memoir was Prince Harry’s “Spare,” which chronicled his childhood, relationship with the royal family and his decision to step back from his royal duties. “Spare” was the top-selling memoir of last year, with more than 1.1 million print copies sold. Britney Spears also released her highly anticipated memoir, “The Woman In Me,” which shed light on her conservatorship and her relationships with her family and her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. Other recent high-profile celebrity memoirs include Barbra Streisand’s nearly thousand-page book “My Name Is Barbra” and actress Jennette McCurdy’s “I’m Glad My Mom Died.”