Rebel Wilson’s The Deb set to close TIFF after she accused film's producers of blocking it from festival

Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut has booked its world premiere, despite her prior concern that the film would be “buried.”

On Tuesday, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) announced that The Deb — which Wilson directed, co-wrote and stars in — will close out the 2024 edition of the festival on Sep. 15. Wilson immediately took to social media to celebrate the news. 

"Beyond grateful that THE DEB will be shared with audiences in Toronto this September!" Wilson wrote on Instagram, alongside several photos from the upcoming film. "Thank you TIFF for the selection of a film so close to my heart, a film I’ve fought to make as a first time female director — to the cast and crew, and to my awesome fans, thank you for your continued love and support! Let’s go to Toronto!!”

A spokesperson for producers of The Deb did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly’s request for comment. 

The announcement comes less than a week after Wilson took to social media to express her fears about the film being blocked from its TIFF premiere. In the July 10 video, Wilson named producers Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron, as well as executive producer Vince Holden, alleging them of "retaliatory behavior," which included the claim that the group was somehow blocking the film from premiering at the festival.

“If the movie doesn’t play at Toronto, it’s because of these absolute f---wits,” she said at the time. 

In a statement to EW, a spokesperson for producers of The Deb denied Wilson’s allegations, calling them "false, defamatory, and disappointing." Two days later, the three producers named by the Pitch Perfect star filed a defamation suit against her.

"This lawsuit is about holding Rebel accountable for her attempts to bully Plaintiffs into conceding to her unreasonable demands by spreading vicious lies without regard for the irreparable damage her reckless words would cause on the hard-earned personal and professional reputations of Plaintiffs," said the complaint, which was reviewed by EW.

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The lawsuit further accused Wilson of refusing to “collaborate” with producers, behaving “unprofessionally with employees of the Film,” making “unauthorized and improper disclosures,” and claimed that she “absconded from the Film for months at a time.”

That same day, Wilson responded to the lawsuit on Instagram, writing, “It’s not defamation if it’s the TRUTH.”

She told followers, "Those ‘producers’ who I mentioned in my last post have just filed a defamation suit against me and sent to the press! Let our cool movie play at Toronto and stop messing about with a rubbish defamation suit against me!”

Per the TIFF release, Wilson's The Deb "is an original musical comedy about two teenage cousins who dig deep to find self-acceptance and a date to the Debutante Ball in a small country town in Australia." The movie is an adaptation of a musical of the same name that premiered in Sydney in 2022.

The Toronto Film Festival runs from Sept. 5 through Sept. 14.