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Rebel Wilson’s memoir,Rebel Rising,has been delayed until May.Credit:Invision

The British comedian subsequently released a statement denying the claims,saying they were “demonstrably false” and were “directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence”.

A spokesperson for HarperCollins told this masthead that publication in Australia would be later than the UK,but would not comment on any threat of possible legal action by Baron Cohen had on the original decision to postpone it. A new date would be announced “in due course”.

The new schedule coincides with the actor’s upcoming promotional tour,An Evening with Rebel Wilson,in which she will appear in conversation in Sydney,Brisbane and Melbourne. Her British tour,also with three dates (Edinburgh,Manchester and London),begins the day before publication there,on April 24.

She is now promoting the book in the US,appearing this week at New York Town Hall,onThe Kelly Clarkson Show and Jimmy Fallon’sThe Tonight Show,with a live show in Santa Monica next week.

According to reports in the US,Wilson,whose films includeBridesmaids,Jojo Rabbit,and thePitch Perfect series,writes candidly in the book about her weight (and the potential consequences for her career of losing much of it),of her sex life and coming out,her financial affairs,growing up in a dog-breeding Christian family,and of having her daughter Royce with fashion designer partner Ramona Agruma via a surrogate.

She toldThe New York Timesthat she expected Baron Cohen to deny her account ofGrimsby:“I knew he wasn’t going to take it,proverbially,‘lying down’. This is not about cancelling someone. It’s part of my story,my memoir. And I’m allowed to write about what happened to me,and how that made me feel.”

She said she was most anxious about people reading about losing her virginity at 35:“That was something that absolutely nobody knew ... And then I thought,You know what,if I’m doing a memoir and writing about everything,I’m just going to put that here as well.”

In her memoir she also writes about the early days of her career when she appeared in the SBS hit comedyFat Pizza,claiming she was the subject of “fatphobic” jokes,which she took “right on my double chin”.

Sacha Baron Cohen has denied claims from his Grimsby co-star Rebel Wilson.Credit:AP

Paul Fenech,who created the show,responded,telling theDaily Mail: “Rebel was happy building a career playing the big girl in Hollywood,now she’s saying we did her wrong? We gave her a start,took her around the world,gave her stage training and TV and feature film opportunities. How ungrateful … I guess she’ll do or say anything to sell a book.”

In 2017 Wilson won damages of $4.7 million when she sued Bauer Publications for defamation,but after the publisher appealed the following year that amount was cut to $600,000.

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