Olivia Wilde Shuts Down 'Don't Worry Darling' Rumors

In a new Vanity Fair profile, the actress-turned-director is finally opening up about the rumors surrounding her relationship and, most importantly, her new film Don't Worry Darling, which seems to make headlines almost every other day.

Wilde first addressed the controversy surrounding Shia LaBeouf, who was Darling's original lead. Wilde claimed that upon finding out about his work style and the troubling abuse allegations against him made by ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs, she fired him. However, LaBeouf shared screenshots and emails that seemed to indicate that he quit the film. A leaked video of Wilde attempting to reach a compromise with the actor also surfaced.

"This issue is so much more nuanced than can be explained in private texts released out of context," Wilde explained. "All I’ll say is he was replaced, and there was no going forward with him. I wish him the best in his recovery." Vanity Fair consulted a source with intimate knowledge of what happened, and they said that LaBeouf and Florence Pugh, the film's other lead, had tension due to LaBeouf's intense nature and Pugh's lack of attendance on set. The actor gave Wilde an ultimatum, making her choose between the two. Wilde chose Pugh.

Wilde then tackled the next biggest elephant in the room: the perceived tension between her and Pugh. Many have taken Pugh's lack of promotion for the film on her social media as a sign that she had disagreements on set. There were also rumblings that she was uncomfortable with the public affection Wilde and the film's replacement lead, Harry Styles, had as well as claims she was uncomfortable with the sex scenes and their emphasis in the film's trailer.

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"It is very rare that people assume the best from women in power," Wilde said. "I think they don’t often give us the benefit of the doubt. Florence did the job I hired her to do, and she did it exquisitely. She blew me away. Every day I was in awe of her, and we worked very well together. . . It is ironic that now, with my second film—which is again about the incredible power of women, what we’re capable of when we unite, and how easy it is to strip a woman of power by using other women to judge and shame them—we’re talking about this.”

She also addresses the rumors of her romance interfering while filming, explaining, "The idea that I had five seconds in the day to be distracted by anything is laughable. I was there before everyone. I was there after everyone. And it was a dream. It’s not like this work was not enjoyable. It was just all-encompassing.”

Wilde explains that Pugh was deeply involved with the role so she gave her space to bring out the best performance. As for the lack of social media promotion Pugh has been doing, Wilde said: "Florence is one of the most in-demand actresses in the universe. She’s on set on Dune. I gather that some people expect for her to be engaging more on social media. I didn’t hire her to post. I hired her to act. She fulfilled every single expectation I had of her. That’s all that matters to me."

Lastly, she shuts down the early rumor that she left her ex-husband Jason Sudeikis for her new beau Harry Styles. "The complete horseshit idea that I left Jason for Harry is completely inaccurate,” she said. “Our relationship was over long before I met Harry. Like any relationship that ends, it doesn’t end overnight. Unfortunately, Jason and I had a very bumpy road, and we officially dissolved the relationship towards the beginning of the pandemic. We were raising two kids during lockdown, so we co-parented through that time. Once it became clear that cohabitating was no longer beneficial for the children, it became the responsible thing to not, because we could be better parents as friends who live in different houses."

While a source told Vanity Fair that Wilde was not too happy about Pugh's nonchalant behavior at the film's Venice Film Festival premiere, Don't Worry Darling's warm reception is a nice consolation.

Photo courtesy of River Callaway/BFA