Olivia Wilde has reflected on the ‘trauma’ of her split from Harry Styles playing out in public at the time her movie Don’t Worry Darling was released in 2022.
Harry and Olivia dated for nearly two years, from late 2020 to November 2022.
Shortly before their split, Olivia’s psychological thriller, starring Florence Pugh and Harry, was encompassed with rumours of feuds and fallouts.
Despite soaring to the top of the box office, the 2022 movie was overshadowed by a feud between Olivia and Florence, rumours of pay disputes, and allegations that Olivia’s romance with singer Harry made crew members ‘uncomfortable’.
Four years later, Olivia has discussed the ‘multidimensional scandals’ of Don’t Worry Darling in the latest episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast.
During the interview, Louis said: ‘We were talking about how when the film came out it was derailed by publicity. I mean many multidimensional scandals.
‘Your relationship at the time was breaking up. You had a well-publicised relationship with your co-star Harry Styles and, there was a kind of a misogynistic dimension to a lot of the coverage of the drama, the fallout.’
Olivia Wilde has reflected on the ‘trauma’ of her split from Harry Styles playing out in public at the time her movie Don’t Worry Darling released in 2022
Harry and Olivia dated for nearly two years, from late 2020 to November 2022 (pictured together in March 2022)
Olivia, who is currently on a press run for her new film The Invite (pictured), said it has been ‘healing’ in contrast to the backlash that surrounded Don’t Worry Darling
Olivia said: ‘I think it did hurt the film for sure because we didn’t get to have the conversations about what the film was trying to say, which was a shame because so many people worked so hard to make that film in the depths of COVID.
‘We made the film for $30million. I think it looks like a much more expensive film because of the work of people like Matty Libatique, who shot the film, Katie Byron, who production designed the film.’
She added: ‘But we never got to talk about that, so I think it hurt the film. It hurt me for sure, because I was so naive up until that point about the grinder, the garbage disposal that the internet can be.
‘So at this point, I have enough of a perspective on it and that allows me to experience it as a fascinating time. It is interesting to witness a tornado from the inside.’
Olivia, who is currently on a press run for her new film The Invite, said it has been ‘healing’ in contrast to the backlash that surrounded Don’t Worry Darling.
She added: ‘Well, it’s interesting because this is my first time back into the press cycle since then and I did wonder, would this feel quite traumatising?
‘I find that the conversations around The Invite are so wonderfully interesting to me, and I’ve actually been allowed to have them. So, it’s been actually kind of healing because I understand that it’s not always a garbage disposal.’
Her new marital comedy, starring herself, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton, has proven to be a hit, having sparked a fierce 72-hour, $10million (£7.2million) bidding war which resulted in A24 winning against Warner Bros and Focus Features.
The director has received rave reviews for her new movie, with fans lavishing praise on her remarkable return to directorial duties.
Olivia, who made her directorial debut with the comedy Booksmart in 2019, received backlash for the alleged conflict with Florence and her relationship with Harry during filming of Don’t Worry Darling.
Florence played Harry’s onscreen wife Alice Chambers in the psychological thriller which was directed by Olivia.
Shortly before their split, Olivia’s psychological thriller, starring Florence Pugh and Harry, was encompassed with rumours of feuds and fallouts
Sources at the time claimed Olivia and Florence allegedly got into a ‘screaming match’ with one another during filming, as the director would often disappear with her boyfriend Harry.
Reports also suggest Florence was upset with Olivia for hooking up with Harry during production while still married to Jason Sudeikis – before they split in November 2021.
The apparent feud intensified when Olivia referred to Florence as ‘Miss Flo’ and said she needed a ‘wake-up call’ during the rehearsal period of the movie, in a video to actor Shia LaBeouf that was leaked.
As well as texts, Shia provided Variety with a video that Olivia allegedly sent him on August 19, 2020, two days after he is said to have quit.
In the video Olivia is heard saying she is ‘not ready to give up on this yet,’ as she appears to beg the actor to reconsider. Olivia is then said to allude to tension between Shia and lead star Florence.
‘I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and I too am heartbroken and I want to figure this out,’ Olivia allegedly says in the video.
‘You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo [Florence Pugh], and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us.’
Olivia goes on: ‘If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace – and I respect your point of view, I respect hers – but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope? Will you let me know?’
Reports also emerged that Harry – who had only starred in one movie, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk in 2017, before he was cast in Don’t Worry Darling – was paid three times more than his Oscar-nominated co-star Florence.
Showbiz Galore claimed the Midsomer star was paid $700,000 for the role, while the Watermelon Sugar star was given $2.5million, but Olivia has claimed this was not the case.
She told Variety: ‘There has been a lot out there that I largely don’t pay attention to. But the absurdity of invented clickbait and subsequent reaction regarding a nonexistent pay disparity between our lead and supporting actors really upset me.
‘I’m a woman who has been in this business for over 20 years, and it’s something that I have fought for myself and others, especially being a director. There is absolutely no validity to those claims.’
Olivia said she thinks the ‘multidimensional scandals hurt the film and her for sure’ as she reflected on the backlash
Despite the continued talk of all the drama on set, Don’t Worry Darling’s cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, told Hollywood Reporter that it was all a bunch of bologna.
‘When I hear that there are rumors of acrimony on the set, I reject it. It wasn’t apparent at all, to be honest,’ he claimed.
‘From my standpoint, the stories are completely untrue when it comes to being on-set. I can’t speak to postproduction at all.
‘Whatever happened, it happened way after I left… I was never witness to anything. And I didn’t feel anything. You know, you get a feeling that there might be something going on, and I didn’t feel anything.’
In addition, a total of 40 individuals who worked on the movie, including producer Miri Yoon, came forward to release a joint statement obtained by the Daily Mail after the movie came out, in an attempt to ‘correct’ the ‘absurd’ and ‘completely false’ claims that were made about the set.
‘As a crew, we’ve avoided addressing the absurd gossip surrounding the movie we’re so proud of, but feel the need to correct the anonymous “sources” quoted in a recent article,’ the statement began.
‘Any allegations about unprofessional behavior on the set are completely false. Olivia is an incredible leader and director who was present with and involved in every aspect of production.
‘She ran this set with class and respect for everyone involved. There was never a screaming match between our director and anyone, let alone a member of our cast.’
In an interview with Elle, Olivia also addressed their feud once again, while claiming that her ‘life was torn to shreds’ by the public as a result of all the scrutiny over the flick.
Although she did not address any of the scandals specifically during her interview, she slammed the number of ‘untruths’ about her life that have been shared in recent months, and compared all the talk surrounding the movie to being on ‘a reality show.’
‘It is shocking to see so many untruths about yourself traded as fact,’ she told the publication.
‘Florence had a really wise comment that we didn’t sign up for a reality show, and I love that she put it that way, because it’s as though the general public feels that if you are making something that you’re selling to the public, you somehow have accepted that your life will be torn to shreds by a pack of wolves. No, that’s actually not part of the job description. Never was.’
The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login