To clear his name, Sacha Baron Cohen is speaking out about the claim he had “threatened” Rebel Wilson about releasing her new book Rebel Rising.
Over the weekend, Wilson accused Cohen of being an “a—hole” to her when they worked together on the set of The Brothers Grimsby in 2014. The Pitch Perfect actress wrote about her experience in her new book.
However, Wilson stated that Sacha Baron Cohen was determined to make sure her book wouldn’t hit store shelves next month. She said that Cohen threatened her by hiring a crisis PR manager as well as lawyers.
“He is trying to stop press coming out about my book. But the book WILL come out,” Wilson shared. “And you will know the truth.”
She then declared, “I will not be bullied or silenced by high-priced lawyers or PR crisis managers. The ‘a—hole’ that I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen.”
However, Cohen is now denying Wilson’s “demonstrably false claims” about his supposed “inappropriate behavior” on The Brothers Grimsby set.
“While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence,” Cohen explained in a statement to Variety. “Including contemporaneous documents, film footage, and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during, and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby.”
After Working With Sacha Baron Cohen, Rebel Wilson States She Has a ‘No A—hole Policy’
While promoting her new book, Rebel Wilson recalled how working with Sacha Baron Cohen has greatly impacted her career.
“When I first came to Hollywood, people were like, yeah, ‘I have a no a—hole policy. [It] means like, ‘Yeah, I don’t work with a—holes,’” Wilson shared. “I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I mean, that sounds sensible or logical. But then [what they meant] really sunk in because I worked with a massive a—hole. And yeah, now I definitely have a no a—hole policy.”
Nearly 10 years before she wrote her book, Wilson had spoken about Sacha Baron Cohen’s inappropriate behavior on The Brothers Grimsby set.
“Every day he’s like, ‘Just go naked, it will be funny. Remember in Borat when I did that naked scene? It was hilarious,’” Wilson said in 2014. “On the last day, I thought I’d obviously won the argument, and he got a body double to do the naked scene.”
Cohen also allegedly asked Wilson to stick her finger up his butt. She then claimed he said, “Look, I’ll just pull down my pants, you just stick your finger up my butt, it’ll be a really funny bit.”
Rebel Rising is due out next month.