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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Annabel Nugent

Rebel Wilson recalls co-star publicly ‘pulling down his pants’ and asking her to perform lewd act

Guy Levy/Shutterstock for BAFTA

Rebel Wilson has recalled the moment when a male co-star tried to “destroy” her and her career.

The Pitch Perfect star opened up about her past experience when discussing her new Netflix film Senior Year, stating that she wanted to “make sure there [was] a lot of respect for everybody” working on the movie.

Wilson went on to speak about a moment in her career when she was harassed by a male co-star whom she did not name.

“He called me into a room and pulled down his pants,” she told People magazine.

According to Wilson, he asked her to perform a lewd act in front of his friends. “It was awful and disgusting,” she said.

“And all the behaviour afterwards – this was all before MeToo – where they kind of tried to destroy me and my career,” said the 42-year-old.

She continued: “If it had happened after MeToo, then I could have just blasted them.”

Wilson said that because she is a lawyer she knew to call her representative and get “certain things in writing about what happened”.

The actor stars in a new Netflix film, Senior Year (Getty Images)

The actor has a law degree from the University of New South Wales. She explained that she took actions to ensure “people knew what happened”.

“Definitely amongst industry circles, I made sure people knew what happened,” she recalled.

Wilson reflected on the situation further and asked herself why she stayed in that situation “with that awful guy”.

“I should have left. It wasn’t worth it. But at the same time, I was like, ‘Oh well, do the right thing, be a professional and finish the movie.’ Now I would never do that,” she said.

"I thought even complaining to my agency was a big step. And to complain to the studio,” Wilson said, adding that she later discovered she was the fourth person to complain about the actor.

“Such gross behaviour, but a lot of women have had it way worse,” she said.

If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit their website here.

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