Rebel Wilson: ‘I did not lie about my name and age’

Australian actress Rebel Wilson has spoken out to clarify reports suggesting she misled fans over her identity, insisting she never tried to hide her real name or age.
The Pitch Perfect star came under fire last year (15) when editors of Australia’s Woman’s Day magazine printed an article reporting that Rebel is actually in her mid-30s, instead of 29, and was born Melanie Bownds.
Rebel laughed off the reports at the time, tweeting, “I’m actually a 100 year old mermaid formerly known as ‘CC Chalice’,” but now she has opened up about the controversy, insisting she never lied about her name or age.
“I don’t really have any skeletons in my closet – which is why it’s quite hard for people to write bad stuff about me,” she tells Australian TV show Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery. “I don’t have a drug addiction, or secret child. But I think, when I did go to America, I kind of just stopped saying my age… The reality is, when you work in America, you have to show your passport and your visa for every single job… So it’s not like you can hide how old you are.”
Rebel goes on to declare she did not mean to mislead fans, and insists many actresses in Hollywood do not give away their real date of birth.
“I was just being a lady and not telling my age when I moved to America. And that’s not really a crime. Also, most actresses do that,” she adds. “I went under one of my middle names, Melanie. And my father’s surname… And also, Rebel’s not … for a Christian girls school, it’s not, like, the best name to have.”