"I felt ashamed of myself": Rebel Wilson opens up about her experience on The Brothers Grimsby set

Rebel Wilson recently gave a bit more insight into her experience with Sacha Baron Cohen on the set of their 2016 film The Brothers Grimsby. After calling Cohen an "a**hole" on social media, the Pitch Perfect actress opened up about feeling disrespected on set in an interview with The Sunday Times published on March 31, 2024. She recalled returning to the set for re-shoots:

"The fact that I then went back… I felt ashamed of myself. Why do I have such low self-worth?"

The interview sheds new light on Wilson's ordeal during the production of the film. The actress had previously spoken about working with an "a**hole" while promoting her memoir Rebel Rising on her Instagram account. After claiming to be threatened by Baron's lawyers, Rebel Wilson revealed that the person she was alluding to was none other than Sacha Baron Cohen, with whom she worked on The Brothers Grimsby.

---

Rebel Wilson opens up about feeling degraded on The Brothers Grimsby set

After Senior Year star Rebel Wilson teased about working with an "a**hole" in an Instagram video while promoting her book Rebel Rising on March 15, fans began speculating about the identity of the person. However, fans did not have to wait for the release of the memoir to learn the person's name.

A few days later, Wilson claimed that she was being threatened by this person's legal team. In her Instagram story, she wrote that he was trying to "stop press coming out about my new book." It seemed like Wilson was unafraid of the threats as the Australian actress later revealed the person's identity on March 25, writing:

"I will not be bullied or silenced with high priced lawyer or PR crisis managers. The ‘a**hole’ that I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is Sacha Baron Cohen."

Rebel Wilson played Dawn Grobham, the girlfriend of Sacha Baron Cohen's character Noddy in the comedy film The Brothers Grimsby. In an old tweet dating back to 2017, the actress alleged that Baron had behaved inappropriately with her on set. In an even older radio interview on Kiis FM in 2014, she claimed that he asked her to get naked for a scene.

Recalling her experience on set in The Sunday Times interview, Rebel Wilson shared that it turned out to be the worst professional experience of her career. However, despite feeling disrespected, the Bridesmaids actress did not speak out as she did not want to be branded as a "troublemaker." She shared her experience on the set, saying:

"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 also alleged that the costumes she was made to wear in the film were chosen so that the "cellulite on [her] thighs" was highlighted "and a top to show the fattest part of [her] arm." Describing how she felt, Rebel said:

"...like I was something to be laughed at and degraded because of my size."

The experience made her feel "shaken" and it took her many months to recover. When the film was released in 2016, she did not promote it and has not been able to watch it, Wilson claimed. She also added why she is finally coming out with her story. She said:

"I’m sharing my story now because the more women talk about things like this, hopefully the less it happens. And hopefully fewer women have to work harder just to respect themselves."

Sacha Baron Cohen, however, denied her claims in a statement via his representatives on March 25. While, on the other hand, Rebel Wilson's memoir Rebel Rising will be released on April 2, 2024.