Rebel Wilson's 'world collapsed' after magazine bosses accused her of lying

Rebel Wilson's "world collapsed" after magazine bosses allegedly painted her as a liar, her lawyer has claimed.

The Pitch Perfect star launched legal action against Bauer Media executives in May 2016 after a number of their publications in her native Australia featured reports suggesting she had lied about her background such as her age, real name, and upbringing.

In her lawsuit, which was filed against titles Woman's Day, The Australian Women's Weekly, New Weekly and OK!, the actress claimed the articles damaged her reputation and she lost out on movie roles because of the allegations.

Her defamation trial began on Monday (22May17) at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia and her lawyer Matthew Collins QC claimed that her "world collapsed" when the "grubby" articles were published, and the 37-year-old thought "she'd never been hit with such nastiness", according to Guardian.com.

He also said she had been fired from several roles, began taking sleeping tablets and developed a stress rash on her arms and around her mouth because of the stories.

"Rebel Wilson is an Australian success story," Collins said. "She is extraordinarily talented. But her success is the result of almost two decades of very hard work... It's a case of how this publisher refused to let facts get in the way of a good story."

However, Georgina Schoff QC, representing Bauer Media, claimed Wilson told "tall tales" about her working class childhood and said it wasn't true that she had "grown up in a ghetto", claiming she actually went to an "elite private boarding school".

She also suggested the articles weren't "nasty" and had "done her no harm" as no "reasonable reader" would think any less of the actress.

The trial continues, with Rebel expected to take to the witness stand later this week.