Rebel Wilson’s delayed biography will have a redacted chapter when it’s published in Australian next month.
Rebel Rising from publisher Harper Collins is set to go on sale on 8th May, after being pushed from its original release date.
British actor Sasha Baron Cohen raised concern about the content of a chapter in the book which was titled ‘Sacha Baron Cohen and Other Assholes’.
Harper Collins has now confirmed that “for legal reasons we have redacted one chapter in the Australian/New Zealand edition and included an explanatory note accordingly. That chapter is a very small part of a much bigger story and we’re excited for readers to know Rebel’s story when the book is released, on Wednesday 8 May.”
In the Australian edition the chapter will appear blacked out, while some sections have also been redacted in the British version of the autobiography.
Due to the differences in defamation law around the world, how much of the book can be published is remarkably different.
In the UK some small sections have been removed, but as Australia has some of the toughest defamation laws in the world, the entire chapter of Wilson’s book will be blacked out.
The chapter Australians won’t get to read is largely focused on the shooting of the 2016 film Grimsby where Wilson and Baron Cohen played a girlfriend and boyfriend. Wilson has described it as the worst professional experience of her life.
Representatives for Baron Cohen commented on the claims in the book when the UK version was released earlier this week. They say the claims made by Wilson are false and defamatory.
“Harper Collins did not fact check this chapter in the book prior to publication and took the sensible but terribly belated step of deleting Rebel Wilson’s defamatory claims once presented with evidence that they were false.
“Printing falsehoods is against the law in the UK and Australia; this is not a ‘peculiarity’ as Ms Wilson said, but a legal principle that has existed for many hundreds of years.
“This is a clear victory for Sacha Baron Cohen and confirms what we said from the beginning – that this is demonstrably false, in a shameful and failed effort to sell books.”
Ahead of the book’s release publisher Harper Collins has described it as a “a refreshingly candid, hilarious, and inspiring book about her unconventional journey to Hollywood success and loving herself.’
The book recounts the actors journey from appearing in Australian television shows including Fat Pizza, Bogan Pride and The Wedge.
After Wilson moved to the USA, she found success in Hollywood films including Bridesmaids and Pitch Perfect.
In the tome Wilson chronicles the emotional and physical lessons she learned, as well as her most embarrassing experiences.
It also covers her journey of weight gain and loss, sexuality and fertility challenges.
