From The Bookseller:
The UK edition of Rebel Wilson’s forthcoming memoir, Rebel Rising (HarperCollins), will be published with passages redacted, the publisher has confirmed.
This comes after the “Pitch Perfect” actress made claims about her experiences acting with Sacha Baron Cohen, with whom she co-starred in the 2016 film “Grimsby” (known as “The Brothers Grimsby” in the US).
One page, within a chapter titled “Sacha Baron Cohen and other Assholes”, is almost entirely redacted. In the UK edition, Wilson says that details of her experiences “can’t be printed here due to the peculiarities of the law in England and Wales”.
A spokesperson for HarperCollins told The Bookseller: “We are publishing every page [of Rebel Rising], but for legal reasons, in the UK edition, we are redacting most of one page with some other small redactions and an explanatory note. Those sections are a very small part of a much bigger story and we’re excited for readers to know Rebel’s story when the book is released, this Thursday 25th April.”
Speaking to MailOnline, the publisher said the redactions occur in chapter 23 on pages 216, 217, 218 and 221.
The book was published by Simon & Schuster (S&S) in the US on 2nd April. However, Wilson’s Australia book tour has been cancelled and the publication date delayed.
Wilson has said an incident of Cohen’s behaviour on set left her feeling “bullied, humiliated and compromised”.
Cohen has strongly denied the allegations. On publication in the US, a spokesperson for the actor said: “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’.”
Link to the rest at The Bookseller
PG suggests that pirate copies, at least for ebooks, might show up with the nasty bits included.
PG acknowledges that libel and slander suits in the UK are real threats, especially since the plaintiff’s legal fees can be assessed to the defendant in addition to the plaintiff’s damages.
The British rule on tort damages is different than that which is most common in US courts, where the general rule is that each party is responsible for their own legal fees and costs. There are over 200 exceptions to the American rule, some by statute and others by judicial decision, but, to the best of PG’s knowledge, none of the exceptions are broad and sweeping unless their allowed under statute.
I don’t know what went down between Cohen and Wilson, and I would find most anything believable.
But it is telling that Wilson’s memoir is being published unredacted in the US, where truth is an absolute defense against libel, and is being redacted in Britain, where to my understanding it is not.
I’m English but not a lawyer so take what I am about to say with caution. However, I think you are wrong as truth is an absolute defence in English law. The difference – other than the question of awards of costs, which do at least tend to discourage frivolous cases – is that it is up to the defendant to prove the truth of their statement (though the claimant does have to prove “serious harm” resulted from the publication).
The real problem seems to lie in the difficulty of proving that something is true and the opportunity this provides to use the courts to suppress speech. In the case in question it seems that Harper Collins are not confident that Rebel Wilson can prove her claims (or are anyway unwilling to spend the money/take the risk or her being unable to do so). Cohen of course claims that he has copious evidence/witnesses to disprove her claims, but possibly not enough to sue in the USA?