Rebel Wilson is known for pushing the boundaries of comedy and for always giving an interesting soundbite and in a recent interview, she spoke on a topic that’s near to her as both a queer woman and a comedian: representation in acting and comedy.

In an interview with the BBC’s Desert Island Discs podcast, Wilson responded to a question about whether there are different standards for the jokes that men and women are allowed to tell.

In her response, she explained, “I’ve definitely said a lot of edgy jokes and said them in a lot of public places, like the BAFTAs. I don’t think there’s a different standard, it’s more this thing about more if you are something, then now you’re allowed to joke about it. Like, if you are overweight then now you’re allowed to say jokes, but if you’re not… that’s kind of what’s currently happening.”

“I think that’s hard,” she continued. “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. 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,” Wilson said. “Sometimes you do step over it but, at the end of the day, you are trying to entertain people.”

“I’ll tell you where you won’t be entertained, if people are always being safe and protective,” she added.

Wilson has been promoting her memoir, Rebel Rising, which came out in April 2024. She gained additional attention for a passage in that book where she called out her experience working with Sacha Baron Cohen in The Brothers Grimsby as one of the worst of her career. Baron Cohen’s reps responded to Wilson’s claims of harassment on the set as “demonstrably false.”