Sacha Baron Cohen’s representative responds to Rebel Wilson claims

By Marianne Garvey, CNN

(CNN) — Rebel Wilson is claiming Sacha Baron Cohen has tried to stop the release of her upcoming memoir, “Rebel Rising.”

Wilson and Baron Cohen starred together “The Brothers Grimsby” in 2016.

“I will not be bullied or silenced with high priced lawyer or PR crisis managers,” Wilson wrote on her Instagram stories on Monday. “The ‘a**hole’ that I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is Sacha Baron Cohen.”

Without naming Baron Cohen, Wilson had previously written on social media: “He’s trying to stop press coming out about my new book. But the book WILL come out and you will all know the truth.”

In her posts, Wilson did not specify what she wrote about Baron Cohen. However, a spokesperson for the comedian and actor told CNN Wilson’s claims are 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 spokesperson said.

“When I first came to Hollywood, people were like, yeah, ‘I have a no a**hole policy, means like, yeah, I don’t work with a**holes.’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah. I mean, that sounds sensible or logical. But then it really sunk in because I worked with a massive a**hole and yeah, now I definitely have a no a**holes policy,” Wilson said in a video shared on Instagram earlier this month.

In a 2016 interview with UK Marie Claire, Wilson spoke about Baron Cohen wanting her to film a nude scene in “The Brothers Grimsby,” which she declined.

“You want to know that the people (behind the camera) have a certain sensibility and decency,” Wilson said at the time. “And a lot of times in comedy they’re not those people.”

“Rebel Rising” is due to release on April 2.

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