Rebel Wilson Says Sacha Baron Cohen Wanted to Create 'Scandal' By 'Kissing Publicly,' Which His Rep Denies

During an appearance on Monday's episode of Dax Shephard's Armchair Expert, the actress -- who has been promoting her new memoir, Rebel Rising -- claimed Baron Cohen tried to create "scandal" to promote their 2016 comedy, The Brothers Grimsby, by suggesting they "kiss publicly" on a boat while filming on location in Cape Town, South Africa.

Wilson said working with Baron Cohen on the movie was the "worst professional experience I've had" while appearing on the podcast. "I noticed he kind of got off on just making people in general feel uncomfortable," she claimed, claiming Cohen "would make me feel very uncomfortable by all sorts of comments."

The Pitch Perfect star then brought up the alleged boat conversation.

"He said I should rent a boat in Cape Town, and we should kiss publicly, and then the paparazzi would take photos, and then that could be a scandal that would help promote the film," she explained.

However, a production source denied Wilson's allegation, telling Us Weekly, "This is the first time anyone from production is hearing of this, and in any event, no such promotion happened."

TooFab reached out to Cohen's reps for comment, who responded with the statement they released previously.

"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," said the rep.

Before they worked together, Wilson said she "idolized" Baron Cohen "from a comedic perspective," but claimed she had an unpleasant experience with him a year prior to filming the movie.

She told Shepard that when she was preparing to host the 2013 MTV Movie Awards, she tried out her jokes on Cohen as he was in attendance at a dinner party she and her roommate put on.

"I can just see him not laughing," she said. "And there were other comedians there that were being more friendly, but Sacha was the one that I really idolized, and so I was, like, just seeing if he would laugh. [After I finished], he goes, 'You're in real serious trouble. You have nothing.'"

Noting that Baron Cohen had hosted the awards show before, she started "freaking out" after he allegedly gave her a negative review of her material.

"It sent me on a four-day panic spiral where I got other comedians to write some jokes for me," Wilson told Shepard. "I ended up doing them at UCB, doing the same jokes I'd said in front of Sacha, but then all these kids laughed. So then I was like, 'Why did he do that?'"

Wilson has opened up about her alleged encounters and experiences working with Baron Cohen in the last couple of weeks.

It all began when she claimed one of her former costars was pulling out all the stops to try and stop her book's release -- while also hiring "a crisis PR manager and lawyers" -- and had even gone so far as to allegedly threaten her.

"I wrote about an a--hole in my book. Now, said a--hole is trying to threaten me," she wrote on her Instagram Stories. "He's hired a crisis PR manager and lawyers. He is trying to stop press coming out about my book."

"But the book WILL come out and you will all know the truth," Wilson concluded her message.

The Isn't It Romantic star later revealed the name of the celeb, saying she was referring to Baron Cohen.

"I will not be bullied or silenced by high priced lawyers or PR crisis managers," Wilson wrote on her Instagram Stories. "The 'a--hole' that I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my books is: Sacha Baron Cohen."

She went on to claim that she's been hearing more stories about Baron Cohen after she shared hers.

The comedian, best known for portraying the fictional characters Borat and Ali G, worked with Wilson on the 2016 Grimsby film (released in the US as The Brothers Grimsby), with Wilson portraying the girlfriend of Baron Cohen's character.

Baron Cohen's team subsequently responded to Wilson's claims with the same statement above.

In her memoir, which is out April 2, Wilson wrote about her alleged experience filming The Brothers Grimsby with Baron Cohen.

"It felt like every time I'd speak to SBC, he’d mention that he wanted me to go naked in a future scene. I was like, 'Ha, I don't do nudity, Sacha,'" she recalled, according to an excerpt shared by PEOPLE.

She detailed an alleged incident in which she wrote that Baron Cohen "summons me via a production assistant" to film an extra scene.

"Okay, well, we're gonna film this extra scene,' SBC says," Wilson wrote. "Then he pulls his pants down ... SBC says very matter-of-factly: 'Okay, now I want you to stick your finger up my ass.' And I’m like, 'What?? ... No!!' ..."

"I was now scared. I wanted to get out of there, so I finally compromised: I slapped him on the ass and improvised a few lines as the character," she added.

She previously spoke about the alleged encounter while speaking with Australia's Courier and Mail back in 2014, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Rebel Rising is out now. You can order it here.