Rebel Wilson opened up about another alleged incident involving Sacha Baron Cohen while filming The Brothers Grimsby in 2016.
“He said I should rent a boat in Cape Town and we should kiss publicly, and then the paparazzi would take photos and then that could be a scandal that would help promote the film,” Wilson, 44, claimed during the Monday, April 1, episode of Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast.
Wilson alleged that Baron Cohen, 52, “kind of got off on making people in general feel uncomfortable,” adding that he would make her “feel very uncomfortable by all sorts of comments.” Wilson noted that working alongside Baron Cohen was “the worst professional experience” she had ever had.
A source familiar with the film, meanwhile, denied that the boat conversation took place. “This is the first time anyone from production is hearing of this, and in any event, no such promotion happened,” the insider told Us Weekly.
Wilson also shared a story about hosting the MTV Movie Awards in 2013, claiming she tested out jokes in front of Baron Cohen and other comedians during a dinner party hosted by her roommate. She noted that Baron Cohen was “someone from a comedic perspective” whom she “idolized” and thought was “hilarious.”
“I can just see him not laughing,” she recalled during Monday’s podcast appearance. “And there were other comedians there that were being more friendly, but Sacha was the one that I really idolized, and so I was, like, just seeing if he would laugh. [After I finished], he goes, ‘You’re in real serious trouble. You have nothing.’”
She continued: “It sent me on a four-day panic spiral where I got other comedians to write some jokes for me. I ended up doing them at UCB, doing the same jokes I’d said in front of Sacha, but then all these kids laughed. So then I was like, ‘Why did he do that?’”
Wilson’s claim came days after she made headlines for identifying him as the “massive asshole” mentioned in her upcoming memoir, Rebel Rising. She alleged that she was being harassed by her former costar to stop her memoir from being released.
“I wrote about an asshole in my book. Now, said asshole is trying to threaten me,” she wrote via her Instagram Story earlier this month. “He’s hired a crisis PR manager and lawyers. He is trying to stop press coming out about my book. But the book WILL come out and you will all know the truth. Rebel xoxo.”
A rep for Baron Cohen subsequently addressed the accusations, telling Us Weekly in a statement, “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.”
In an excerpt from the book, Wilson detailed an uncomfortable encounter with Baron Cohen, claiming they were in Cape Town when she was allegedly summoned “via a production assistant” for another scene.
“‘OK, well, we’re gonna film this extra scene,’ SBC says. Then he pulls his pants down,” Wilson wrote. “SBC says very matter-of-factly: ‘OK, now I want you to stick your finger up my ass.’ And I’m like, ‘What?? … No!!’”
Rebel Rising hits shelves on Tuesday, April 2.
