Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas D. Long granted a formal request allowing producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron, and Vince Holden to obtain testimony from Australian witnesses in their defamation lawsuit against Rebel Wilson. The legal battle centers on the 2024 musical film The Deb and upcoming court dates.
The legal feud surrounding the 2024 musical film The Deb has expanded its reach across continents, drawing in high-profile Hollywood figures and complex defamation claims. What started as an explosive public dispute on social media has transformed into a sprawling court battle playing out in both Australia and Los Angeles. Back in 2024, Wilson went scorched earth in a series of Instagram posts that continued into the following year, first claiming that married producers Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron embezzled funds from The Deb and accusing Ghost of inappropriate behavior towards the film’s star, Charlotte MacInnes.
While an Australian judge recently dismissed a defamation claim brought against Wilson by the film’s star, Charlotte MacInnes, the broader war over defamation claims between Rebel Wilson and the film’s producers continues to escalate in California courts.
Witness Testimony and Australian Depositions
Producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron, and Vince Holden secured a procedural victory when Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas D. Long granted their request to issue a letter rogatory, which is a formal request asking a foreign court to compel testimony from Australian witnesses who cannot be subpoenaed by a California court. The producers argue the testimony is critical to rebutting Wilson’s claims in the long-running legal battle over the 2024 musical film The Deb.
In court declarations, attorney Camille Vasquez pointed to specific witnesses expected to challenge Wilson’s core allegations of financial impropriety and misconduct. Among them is Australian producer Greer Simpkin, who worked on The Deb and was present during events tied to Wilson’s allegations.
Camille Vasquez, Attorney, stated that Simpkin is expected to testify that there was no embezzlement or misuse of film funds by the producers and that she never told Wilson money had been stolen.
Vasquez noted that Simpkin is also expected to dispute claims that Wilson was falsely imprisoned, coerced into signing documents, or that there were financial or tax irregularities involving the film. The producers similarly targeted testimony from second assistant director Neaome Noni Roy, whom Wilson has identified as a witness to alleged misconduct.
Camille Vasquez, Attorney, stated that Roy is expected to testify that none of the alleged improper conduct occurred and that there is no basis for Wilson’s claim she was falsely imprisoned.
Wilson has countersued the producers, accusing them of a troubling pattern of theft, bullying, and sexual misconduct while alleging they inflated the film’s budget and split excess funds among themselves.
Disputed Websites and Hollywood PR Players
The legal friction extends far beyond standard financial disputes, centering heavily on digital communication and mysterious websites published at amandaghost [dot] com and amandaghostsucks [dot] com. In January, Judge Thomas Long OK’d Vasquez’s request to take a deposition and subpoena documents related to websites that called Ghost the Indian Ghislaine Maxwell who was a pimp gathering women for the pleasure of the extremely wealthy.
Legal filings indicate Vasquez’s team believes Wilson ordered the trio to create the sites. During the Australian proceedings, Wilson was presented with metadata that showed her Camp Sugar production company was one of the authors, to which Wilson told the court, I can’t explain that.
The case has also drawn in notable public relations and legal figures. Vasquez is representing the producers and has included several familiar Hollywood players in the Wilson case, namely attorney Bryan Freedman, TAG PR founder Melissa Nathan, and digital consultant Jed Wallace. Wilson, Nathan, and TAG PR are defendants, while Freedman and Wallace are name-checked throughout the legal filings. Freedman, who no longer represents Wilson, says neither he nor Nathan and Wallace created the sites, and Wilson has denied any involvement in the websites.
Ongoing Appeals and Upcoming Court Dates
The procedural landscape remains active on multiple fronts. Charlotte MacInnes, who initially sued Wilson in Australia after being targeted on social media following Wilson’s suggestion that MacInnes was denying any sexual misconduct to get a leg up on her career, saw her claim dismissed by Justice Elizabeth Raper, who ruled the posts were not defamatory. MacInnes immediately appealed, noting in her filing that the court did not adequately consider Wilson’s alleged involvement in smear sites targeting Ghost that referred to the appellant as a hooker.
Meanwhile, the core Los Angeles lawsuit moves closer to trial. In November 2024, Judge Long denied Wilson’s bid to dismiss the defamation lawsuit brought by the producers, a decision Wilson is currently appealing.
Wilson is also seeking to delay the scheduled Oct. 5 trial by at least four months. Judge Thomas Long is set to hear that request on Aug. 13.
