Rebel Wilson‘s book Rebel Rising has been released in the United Kingdom and Australia with redactions. Unlike the version of the book released in the United States, the U.K. and Australian versions have certain passages that discuss Wilson’s on-set experiences with Sacha Baron Cohen censored.
Rebel Wilson’s memoir redacts details about Sacha Baron Cohen
Rebel Wilson had previously stated that Chapter 23 in her book, titled “Sacha Baron Cohen and Other A—holes,” would reveal the truth regarding an incident that took place during the production of the 2016 film The Brothers Grimsby.
However, details about Sacha Baron Cohen have been redacted in the U.K. version of the book. Publisher HarperCollins told The Guardian:
“We are publishing every page, but for legal reasons, in the U.K. edition, we are redacting most of one page with some other small redactions and an explanatory note. Those sections are a very small part of a much bigger story.”
HarperCollins Australia has also confirmed that a chapter has been redacted in the Australian version of the memoir.
Following the news, a spokesperson for Sacha Baron Cohen told The Hollywood Reporter:
“HarperCollins 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.”
The statement continued to say:
“Printing falsehoods is against the law in the U.K. 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.”
Rebel Wilson’s representatives haven’t yet responded to the statement.
Rebel Wilson’s ‘Rebel Rising’ book remains uncensored in the US edition
Fans looking for an uncensored version of Rebel Rising can still purchase it in the U.S. The book became available to purchase on April 2, 2024, and remains unredacted.
Wilson previously mentioned that she worked with a “massive a—hole” in the past, taking to social media to reveal that she was talking about Sacha Baron Cohen. The Pitch Perfect star also mentioned that Sacha Baron Cohen had tried to threaten her. However, a spokesperson for the actor said that claims of disrespectful behavior were “demonstrably false.”
