Rebel Wilson Says Debuting ‘The Deb’ at TIFF amid Legal Drama Is ‘Not Ideal’ (Exclusive)

Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut The Deb premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival amid an ongoing legal battle with three of its producers, who filed a defamation lawsuit against her in July.

The actress and filmmaker, 44, spoke with PEOPLE the day before the Sept. 14 red carpet event and acknowledged that the situation “is not ideal.” Wilson, who previously accused the producers of trying to block the film from screening at TIFF, added, “obviously there was a struggle to have the movie play.”

But she said she is focusing on the positives. “At the end of the day, I’m so proud the fact that [TIFF CEO] Cameron Bailey chose this to play at the festival. And the honor to be chosen for TIFF — and again, as a first-time female director, — it’s just huge,” continued the Pitch Perfect star.

Asked if she’s hopeful she can put the legal drama behind her soon, Wilson replied, “Yeah, I feel very confident that… Yeah, because the movie speaks for itself. It’s so good and it’s so original and so unique and it’s just going to — the movie will shine.”

Wilson also has a supporting role in the Australia-set musical about a high school outcast (played by newcomer Natalie Abbott) who is determined to redefine herself at her small town’s Debutante Ball, aka “the Deb,” as it’s known to locals.

Wilson said she hoped to focus on directing The Deb, but agreed to act in the film to help secure financing. She plays Janette, a pushy and sarcastic salon worker and mother of the local teen bully, Annabelle (Stevie Jean).

Abbott praised Wilson’s work as a director, saying she had a clear vision, but also let the actors experiment.

“Technically it was all thought out, but then when the scene is happening and you are acting, I think there was a lot of freedom to play, which is really cool,” she told PEOPLE.

“There was a lot of improv, which was great, especially for scenes with me and Rebel,” added Jean. “It was a lot of just back and forth moments. It was just so much fun.”

The defamation suit from two of The Deb‘s producers, Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron, as well as executive producer Vince Holden, came in response to Wilson’s Instagram video on July 10 in which she accused the group of “bad behavior” on set.

Wilson claimed she was met “with absolute viciousness and retaliatory behavior” after reporting their alleged actions.

Ghost, Cameron and Holden denied Wilson’s claims that they embezzled funds and raised accusations of their own about her conduct during the filmmaking process. Wilson “flatly refused to collaborate with Plaintiffs, absconded from the Film for months at a time, behaved unprofessionally with employees of the Film, and repeatedly made unauthorized and improper disclosures about the Film,” per the legal document obtained by PEOPLE.

As for attempting to withdraw The Deb from its Toronto premiere, the producers wrote in the document that they “had to consider carefully whether to proceed with marketing the Film while it was embroiled in numerous credit and licensing disputes” with Wilson.

They claimed that she “attempted to force the issue and bully them into capitulating to her other unreasonable demands by leveraging her popularity on social media to spread these malicious and baseless lies.” 

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Following the defamation suit filing, Wilson — who shares 20-month-old daughter Royce with her fiancée, Ramona Agruma — wrote on Instagram July 12, “It’s not defamation if it’s the TRUTH” claiming the legal move was a “bogus PR stunt.”

Four days later, Wilson revealed on Instagram that The Deb would close the 2024 edition of TIFF.

Several of the film’s cast and crew praised the first-time director on social media, with actor Max Ostler writing that she “consistently expressed immense gratitude toward all individuals involved in the project. Noteworthy examples of her appreciation include the personalized caps she presented to each cast member as keepsake gifts, as well as the raffle prizes she distributed during one of the filming nights.” 

The Deb does not yet have a release date. Among Wilson’s other upcoming projects is another movie musical, Verona’s Romeo & Juliet, scheduled for 2025.