Rebel Wilson's Allegations Against Sacha Baron Cohen, Explained

Rebel Wilson has called out her The Brothers Grimsby co-star Sacha Baron Cohen for alleged jerkish behavior on that movie's set, leading to a potential lawsuit.

A previous Instagram video shared by the Pitch Perfect star discusses the alleged incident in her upcoming memoir Rebel Rising that prompted her "no assholes policy on sets." At the time, she did not name the person, just that he was a "guy" she "worked with."

"Do you want to know why I have a 'no assholes' policy now with people I work with? Well it's all in the book," Wilson said. "When I first came to Hollywood, people were like, yeah, 'I have a no asshole policy, that means like, yeah, I don't work with assholes.' I was like, 'Oh yeah. I mean, that sounds sensible or logical.' But then it really sunk in what they were meaning by that, older people in the industry. Because I worked with a massive asshole, and, yeah, now I definitely have an assholes policy. Chapter on said asshole – it is chapter 23, that guy was a massive asshole."

It was revealed on Sunday, March 24, that Wilson had identified Borat star Cohen as the "massive asshole." She said Cohen had tried to "silence" her over that chapter.

"I will not be bullied or silenced by high-priced lawyers or PR crisis managers," Wilson wrote on Instagram Stories, per IndieWire. "The a**hole that I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen."

A representative for Cohen denied Wilson's claim that he acted like a "massive asshole" during the production of 2016's The Brothers Grimsby. In a statement to IndieWire, Cohen's representative said, "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 2014, Wilson talked about her experience making the film with Cohen in an interview with Kyle and Jackie O on KIIS FM (via Courier Mail), in which she said he was "harassing" her to go naked for the role.

"Every single day, he's like, 'Rebel, can you just go naked in this scene?' And I'm like, 'No!'" Wilson said. "Sacha and I have the same agent in America, and I'm like, 'Sacha, I'm going to call our agent Sharon and tell her how much you are harassing me.'

She continued, "Every day he's like, 'Just go naked, it will be funny. Remember in Borat when I did that naked scene? It was hilarious.' "On the last day, I thought I'd obviously won the argument and he got a body double to do the naked scene." 

"Then in the last scene ... he was like, 'Rebel, can you just stick your finger up my butt?' And I went, 'What do you mean, Sacha? That's not in the script,'" Wilson added. "And he's like, 'Look, I'll just pull down my pants, you just stick your finger up my butt, it'll be a really funny bit."

Wilson "politely declined" Cohen's request but still made one concession. "You don't wanna be a diva, so I ... said I'll slap you once on the butt, and that's it," said Wilson.