Why Rebel Wilson blacked out this chapter of her memoir.

Rebel Wilson's memoir is finally out in Australia but readers won't be able to read the section about Sacha Baron Cohen.

In the Australian and New Zealand editions of Rebel Rising, the chapter—the title of which was redacted—has all the paragraphs entirely blacked out. 

Due to strict defamation laws Down Under, any claims about Wilson’s negative experience working with the Borat actor needed to be removed.

HarperCollins Australia, the local publisher of the book said, "For legal reasons we have redacted one chapter in the Australian/New Zealand edition and included an explanatory note accordingly."

During a preview of an interview on The Project, obtained by news.com.au, Wilson addressed the redacted section. "It’s watered down a bit," she said. 

This is how the chapter looks for Australian readers. Image: Supplied. 

"Behind the scenes, that was something I was not happy about. I mean Australia is my home country, if anything I want my full story told and I will say … the book is not about that guy. I know there’s been a lot of media about it [Baron Cohen]. But it's not about that guy and it's just my full life story."

The redaction follows earlier reports that Rebel's book release and tour were delayed.

Pre-orders were refunded, physical copies were recalled and any sign of the book online were listed as "unavailable".

HarperCollins told Yahoo Lifestyle in a statement, "Publication of Rebel Rising has been delayed but we have no further comment."

Wilson cancelled three shows scheduled for Melbourne, Brisbane and the Sydney Opera House. As per the Sydney Morning Herald, ticket holders were being told that the Evening With Rebel Wilson events are being canned. These events were scheduled as part of the promotional tour for her memoir. It has been said that refunds will be processed automatically to ticket holders. 

"Given changes to publication dates for Rebel Rising, there have been changes to the promotional schedule and as a result, this show has been cancelled," the update reads. 

Watch the trailer for The Brothers Grimsby, the movie at the centre of the Rebel Wilson drama. Post continues below.

The memoir, which made headlines globally before it was even released, was delayed amid legal battles.

Most of Wilson's allegations have been directed at Sacha Baron Cohen, who was the Aussie actor's co-star in the 2016 film The Brothers Grimsby. But in several other extracts from the book — which was meant to hit shelves on April 3 in Australia — Wilson has also taken aim at other celebrities she has either worked or brushed shoulders with in the past.

While we can't be sure of the exact reason Wilson's book was delayed (although we could take a few good guesses), there's been a lot of build-up ahead of the book's release.

Here's what has happened so far.

Sacha Baron Cohen's lawyers respond to Rebel Wilson.

ICYMI, Wilson named Baron Cohen as the (previously unnamed) "massive a**hole" in her memoir—and then went on to make more disturbing allegations about working with the Borat actor. 

The allegations she made centred around her experience working with the actor in The Brothers Grim and an extra racy scene he wanted her to film. She writes about what he asked her to do in the scene and her adamant refusal.

Wilson then opened up further about the filming experience in an interview with The Sunday Times. 

Rebel Wilson and Sacha Baron Cohen starring together. Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment.

"It's one thing for someone who is fat to exploit their size for comedy, but it's another for somebody else to humiliate you," she said, adding that filming The Brothers Grimsby had "turned out to be the worst professional experience of my career".

Baron Cohen's lawyers responded to the initial allegations, labelling the claims as "demonstrably false".

"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 actor's spokesperson said.

Paul Fenech responds to Rebel Wilson's reflections on Fat Pizza.

In an excerpt shared by Stellar, Wilson spoke about playing the character of Toula in Fat Pizza — an experience she has mixed opinions about, even if she said she will always be grateful for the TV show "giving me my start in Australian television".

"I was in a boys' show, so I had to take their fatphobic jokes right on my double chin," she wrote in Rebel Rising. "All people cared about was that I was fat and funny. And I was doing both of those things very well."

Wilson went on to flag some comments she recalled Fat Pizza writer and showrunner Paul Fenech making about her as she was breaking into comedy.

Rebel Wilson in Fat Pizza. Image: SBS. 

"I was debuting it at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and tickets were selling out. Pauly came up to me on set and said, 'You try too much,'" she claims. "Why was Pauly now criticising me? I'd been loyal to him for three seasons, showing up whenever he needed me on set." 

Fenech has since responded, and he's not impressed with Wilson's claims. "Rebel was happy building a career playing the big girl in Hollywood, now she's saying we did her wrong? We gave her a start, took her around the world, gave her stage training and TV and feature film opportunities. How ungrateful," Fenech told Daily Mail Australia.

"We always looked after her and gave her the creative freedom she needed. But look, at the end of the day, no thank you, no gratitude, [and calling us] fatphobic? Rebel made her Hollywood career playing the big girl. Now suddenly Fat Pizza treated her badly? It's hurtful and disgusting to me to hear this."

Even Adele has been named in the memoir.

In a move that surprised many, Wilson has also alluded to some beef between herself and British singer Adele. In an excerpt obtained by InTouch, Wilson went so far as to suggest that the singer "hates" her based on a handful of awkward moments between the two.

"Some actresses would get offended if I called them plus-size in this book, so I have to be careful with what I say. This is why, I think, Adele hates me," the 44-year-old wrote. "There was a moment when she was bigger, and some people would confuse us for one another… I am assuming, because to be fair I've never asked her."

Wilson claimed that any time she was in Adele's vicinity, the singer would avoid her. "As if my fatness might rub off on her if I were near her for more than 30 seconds," she wrote.

"She didn't like being compared to [Wilson’s Pitch Perfect character] Fat Amy." 

Adele is yet to publicly respond to Rebel Wilson's claims.

This article was originally published on April 2, 2024 and has since been updated with new information. 

Feature Image: Getty/Mamamia.

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