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Rebel Wilson defends claim she is related to Walt Disney in defamation case

Rebel Wilson arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria

Rebel Wilson arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria Source: AAP

Rebel Wilson has denied her grandmother made up a “lovely” but untrue story their family was related to pioneering animator Walt Disney.

Wilson is suing Bauer Media, the publishers of Woman’s Day, for defamation over a series of articles she claims painted her as a liar and a fake, and allegedly wrecked her career.

Wilson claims she has never lied about her real name, age or childhood.

During cross-examination in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday, Wilson said she still believed Disney was her uncle by marriage – a claim the magazine articles had portrayed as a falsehood.

She said her grandmother had researched a family tree confirming the familial link to Disney’s wife Lillian Bounds and was “proud” to have the connection.

Wilson, 37, previously told the court she had visited Disneyland many times and is part of the secret, invite-only Disneyland Club 33.

Bauer’s defence barrister Georgina Schoff said a genealogist had proved there was no familial connection and that Wilson’s grandmother had simply made up the story for a grandchild obsessed with Disney.

“You know that your story doesn’t add up, don’t you?” Ms Schoff asked Wilson, ABC reported.

“You won’t accept that it’s just a story spun by your Nanny Joyce and nothing more?”

But Wilson defended her claim on her second day under cross-examination.

Also on Monday, Wilson denied she signed lucrative contracts for Hollywood movies in the months after Bauer Media allegedly defamed her.

Ms Schoff said the lucrative contract for Pitch Perfect 3 was dated September 17, 2015, during the period the comic actress claims she couldn’t land a leading role.

rebel wilson

Rebel Wilson arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria. Photo: AAP

However, Wilson said she didn’t sign the contract until 2017 and that the document had been backdated to account for merchandising.

Ms Schoff also claimed Wilson had been terminated from her role in Kung Fu Panda 3 before the articles were published in May 2015, an allegation the star denied.

Ms Schoff said Wilson’s termination document from DreamWorks for the movie Trolls was dated April 8, meaning she was fired well before the magazine articles were even published.

However, Wilson pointed to her signature dated July 2015 and said movie studios often backdated contracts.

“It could have been a proforma document and they’ve just added in my details,” she told the court, ABC reported.

Wilson also said even though she’d tweeted in 2015 about starring in upcoming remakes of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Isn’t It Romantic, it was “positive thinking” from her team and there was no guarantee the projects would go ahead.

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