Sacha Baron Cohen denies 'threatening' Rebel Wilson and claims her memoir is 'demonstrably false'

Rebel Wilson'stell-all memoir, Rebel Rising, is due for release next week. The book charts the Australian actor's success in Hollywood after arriving in LA in 2010, and despite the fact that it hasn't hit shelves yet it's already causing quite the stir. 

Over the last few days, Rebel had claimed that she is facing legal action from 'high priced lawyers or PR crisis managers' representing one of the unidentified celebrities she has written about in the book. In one chapter, she details her experience of working with a particularly difficult A-lister - and now, Rebel has confirmed that the person she is referring to is Borat creator Sacha Barron Cohen. The pair worked together in 2016 when they starred in the comedy spy film Grimsby. 

Before announcing who she was talking about, Rebel had alluded to a well-known celebrity who was 'trying to stop press coming out about [her] book', telling her followers on Instagram in a since-deleted story: "I wrote about an a**hole in my book. Now, said (actor) is trying to threaten me. He’s hired a crisis PR manager and lawyers. He is trying to stop press coming out about my book. But the book WILL come out, and you will all know the truth."

She also claimed that after moving to Hollywood to start her acting career she adopted a 'no a**holes on set' rule after working with said star, and she has since gone on to state that the person she has written about is Cohen. She wrote on Instagram: "I will not be silenced by high priced lawyers or PR crisis managers. The a**hole I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen."

In the wake of the allegations, Sacha Baron Cohen has publicly responded to the claims and denied any wrongdoing. In a statement released to TMZ via his reps, his response read: "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."

At the time of writing, Rebel has not responded to his statement. We will continue to update this story.