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Rebel Wilson claims she felt as if Sacha Baron Cohen “sexually harassed” her on the set of the film Grimsby, and believes he “gets off on making people feel uncomfortable”.

The Australian actress made the allegations about the British comedy star in her memoir, Rebel Rising, which was released in the US yesterday.

A representative for Baron Cohen describes her claims as “demonstrably false”, in a statement given to the PA news agency.

Rebel Wilson poses for photographers upon arrival at the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, during the 76th Cannes international film festival, Cap d'Antibes, southern France, Thursday, May 25, 2023. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
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Wilson has made the allegations in her new memoir. Pic: Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP 2023

Wilson, 44, starred alongside Baron Cohen, 52, in the 2016 spy action comedy Grimsby, known as The Brothers Grimsby in the US, playing his on-screen girlfriend.

Best known for films including Bridesmaids, Jojo Rabbit and the Pitch Perfect series, Wilson says she is not aiming to cancel the Ali G and Borat star, but wants to share her alleged experiences as “the more women talk about things like this, hopefully the less it happens”.

Wilson claims she felt that every time she talked to Baron Cohen during filming in South Africa, “he’d mention that he wanted me to go naked in a future scene”, which she says was in “no way essential” to the plot.

She accuses him of giving “gross directions” and says it appeared as if he “wanted me to look and feel awful”, allegedly making her change into smaller clothes “where you could see as much cellulite as possible”.

Sacha Baron Cohen attends a screening of the Oscars in Sydney, Australia. Pic: AP/Rick Rycroft
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Baron Cohen, pictured at an Oscars screening in 2021, has denied the allegations. Pic: AP/Rick Rycroft


Wilson also details a particular alleged incident on set, claiming she was “lured” out of her trailer into an unfurnished concrete room with a mattress on the floor, with the only people in the room being Baron Cohen “and his mates”.

She alleges that Baron Cohen pulled down his trousers as his friends recorded on their phones, telling her: “Okay, now I want you to stick your finger up my ass”, for a scene that he said would be in the film.

Wilson, who says she was “scared”, claims there was no director or film crew around, and adds: “It’s my opinion that Sacha Baron Cohen gets off on making people feel uncomfortable.”

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A representative for Baron Cohen told the PA news agency: “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.”

Baron Cohen’s wife Isla Fisher also appears in the film, alongside Mark Strong, Penelope Cruz, Ricky Tomlinson and Johnny Vegas.

Wilson says she did not want to be labelled a “troublemaker” at the time, but shared a version of her claim on social media during the #MeToo movement in 2017, without naming Baron Cohen.

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Elsewhere in her memoir, Wilson describes other comedy actors such as Ben Stiller as a “total gentleman” on Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb, and says Will Ferrell “could not have been lovelier” when producing Bachelorette.

She also lists “lovely” encounters with Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Bob Saget, Robin Williams and Garry Shandling.

Sky News has contacted representatives for Baron Cohen for comment.

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Dancing On Ice dedicated to The Vivienne as vigil held in Liverpool to remember drag queen

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Dancing On Ice dedicated to The Vivienne as vigil held in Liverpool to remember drag queen

RuPaul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne was remembered at a vigil in their home city of Liverpool on Sunday night.

James Lee Williams, originally from Colwyn Bay in North Wales, died on 5 January aged 32.

Hundreds of fans and friends of The Vivienne gathered at Liverpool‘s St George’s Hall.

Buildings across the city were lit up in green to commemorate the drag queen and their role as the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard Of Oz musical.

Fellow drag queen Danny Beard said the vigil was “a celebration of someone who touched the lives of so many”.

“The Vivienne was one of the world’s most recognisable drag queens, a proper world class entertainer,” they added.

“And above all a shining beacon in all of our lives and especially for the LGBT community.”

James Lee Williams - better known as The Vivienne
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James Lee Williams – better known as The Vivienne. Pic: PA

Since The Vivienne first rose to prominence in 2019, they appeared on a number of TV programmes, including Blankety Blank over the Christmas period.

The first episode in the series of Dancing On Ice on Sunday night also featured a tribute to The Vivienne, who competed on the 2023 series.

Presenter Holly Willoughby said many would have been “saddened by the tragic news”.

“They were a huge part of our show, making it all the way to the final in 2023,” she added.

“They will be very sorely missed and our thoughts are with The Vivienne’s loved ones at this time. So sad.”

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In a tribute released after Mr Williams’s death, a Dancing On Ice spokesperson said they were “deeply saddened” by the news.

They said Mr Williams had made “TV history through their groundbreaking and spellbinding skating partnership”, becoming the first drag act to reach the Dancing On Ice final.

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The Wanted star Max George recalls moment he wrote will from hospital bed before heart surgery

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The Wanted star Max George recalls moment he wrote will from hospital bed before heart surgery

The Wanted star Max George has told of the moment he wrote his will from a hospital bed, as he was convinced he “was going to die”.

In December, George revealed he had to undergo urgent heart surgery after being diagnosed with a block.

In an interview with The Sun, his first since he underwent the lifesaving surgery, the 36-year-old described the moment when he thought he would die.

He said: “If I could go from being absolutely on top of the world to being told ‘the bottom part of your heart isn’t working’, I kept thinking in my head, ‘Well, what if the top half stops working overnight?'”

“That first night I wrote a will, I thought I was going to die,” the 36-year-old musician added.

On the night of 13 December, George said his heart rate and blood pressure dropped, “I felt like I was dying,” he said.

He had a pacemaker fitted by doctors during the surgery, but the former Strictly Come Dancing star said he made a will on his phone fearing the worst.

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Before the surgery, George said his thoughts turned to his partner, British actress Maisie Smith, and his family who he feared he’d leave behind.

He shared updates on social media throughout the process.

While the procedure was complicated by collapsed veins caused by the condition, the surgery was successful and he returned home before Christmas.

He described his pacemaker as “the best Christmas present”.

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Tom Parker, who also rose to fame in the 2010s with the boy band along with George, died at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

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Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson announces pregnancy – and it’s twins

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Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson announces pregnancy - and it's twins

Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson has announced she is pregnant with twins.

The singer, 33, said she was “eating for three now” on her Instagram alongside a polaroid picture of her with Zion Foster, with whom she was reported to have split up last year.

Nelson shared the touching post on Sunday, letting the world know she is set to become a mum for the first time – including two baby emojis next to her message.

The cosy picture shows the pair smiling in a kitchen.

Nelson rose to fame with the girl band Little Mix, which formed on The X Factor in 2011 and earned a string of UK number-one singles.

However, she left in December 2020 after nine years, saying the pressures of being in the group had taken a toll on her mental health.

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Nelson has since performed as a solo artist but still had praise for her former bandmates, telling The Graham Norton Show in 2021: “To me they are still the sickest girl band in the world.”

Little Mix continued as a trio after Nelson’s departure in December 2020 before going on hiatus in 2022.

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