Rebel Wilson Says It Is “Total Nonsense” That Only Gay Actors Can Play Gay Roles

Rebel Wilson has waded into one of the great acting representation debates of our time.

The Pitch Perfect star, who is engaged to a woman, branded the idea that “only straight actors can play straight roles and gay actors can play gay roles” as “total nonsense.”

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She was responding to a question over whether women can get away with different jokes compared to men, and was also speaking to the debate about whether people can make jokes about being overweight if they are not, for example.

“I think that’s hard,” she told the BBC’s Desert Island Discs. “It’s going into this territory of like saying, ‘Well, only straight actors can play straight roles, and gay actors can play gay roles,’ which I think is total nonsense.”

She added: “I think you should be able to play any role that you want. But I always think, in comedy, your job is to always flirt with that line of what’s acceptable. Sometimes you do step over it but, at the end of the day, you are trying to entertain people.”

Wilson, who has starred in Bridesmaids and Isn’t It Romantic, also spoke about her claims that she was mistreated by Sacha Baron Cohen on the set of 2016 comedy Grimsby, which was titled The Brothers Grimsby in the U.S.

Wilson described filming as the “worst professional experience” she has had and said “the me now would have been strong enough to leave.”

“Back then I just didn’t have enough self-esteem to leave and I thought I’d be labelled as unprofessional if I left,” she added.

Cohen denies the allegations and the UK version of Wilson’s autobiography, Rebel Rising, redacted parts of a chapter about her experiences on the set following legal action.

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