Actress Rebel Wilson. Photo: AFP / STEFANO RELLANDINI
By Ian Youngs, BBC News
Actress Rebel Wilson and Borat and Ali G creator Sacha Baron Cohen have become involved in a dispute over her plans to publish what he has described as "demonstrably false claims" about him.
Wilson has said her forthcoming memoir has a chapter dedicated to Baron Cohen.
She has not given details of what is in it, but has said she would not be "bullied or silenced" by his lawyers.
His spokesperson said her claims would be "directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence".
The pair starred in Baron Cohen's 2016 film Grimsby, which was known as The Brothers Grimsby in North America.
Rebel Wilson and Sacha Baron Cohen starring in Grimsby. Photo: Columbia Pictures/SPE / Archives du 7eme Art / Photo12 via AFP
The Australian actress played Dawn, the girlfriend of Baron Cohen's character Nobby, a football fan who gets drawn into the world of his super-spy brother.
Earlier this month, Wilson said in an Instagram video that her book would include details of when she worked with someone who she described using an expletive.
She has now named the subject of that chapter as Baron Cohen, and wrote: "I will not be bullied or silenced by high priced lawyers of PR crisis managers."
She has not given further details. Her book is due to be published in the US on 2 April.
In response, Baron Cohen's spokesperson told BBC News: "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 British star made his name with a brazen brand of comedy, including audacious pranks carried out while disguised as spoof gangster Ali G or fake Kazakh journalist Borat.
Wilson has previously described his personality and style on the Grimsby set as "completely outrageous", recounting how he had repeatedly tried to persuade her to film nude scenes, and saying a sex scene between them was "just the most disgusting thing ever".
Speaking in 2014, she said: "He just keeps pushing you and pushing you and pushing the comedy in every single scene, which is why his stuff is so out loud funny."
When her book Rebel Rising was announced last year, Wilson said the book was "like me sitting down telling my deepest, darkest secrets to a friend… with some laughs along the way of course".
Sarah Emsley of its UK publishers HarperCollins said it was "bursting with the honesty, intelligence, humour and kick-ass spirit that I was hoping for".
She added: "As well as being an actress, comedian and director, Rebel is also an incredibly astute businesswoman and it was clear from the outset that she knows exactly what needs to be done to drive her book to the top of the bestseller lists across the globe."
This story was originally published by the BBC.
