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Has there ever been a film more riddled with scandal and drama than the upcoming thriller Don’t Worry Darling? Starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, the film was directed by Olivia Wilde, who famously met her now-boyfriend Styles on set following a high-profile divorce from Jason Sudeikis.
Because a lot has gone down, we’re recapping exactly what has been going on between Wilde, Styles, Pugh, Sudeikis and original star of the film, Shia LeBeouf – yes, even he is involved now. At this point they may as well make a film about the making of this film, right?
Let’s recap.
Florence Pugh Seems To Have Distanced Herself From Don’t Worry Darling
The first rumblings of behind-the-scenes drama on Don’t Worry Darling centred around Florence Pugh and her lack of publicity for the film. In the past, Pugh has been known to promote her upcoming roles via social media, however aside from a few comments she’s remained pretty silent about Don’t Worry Darling.
Adding fuel to the fire? When the trailer was released, Pugh opted out of promoting it – instead sharing a slide about her other film, Oppenheimer. When Olivia Wilde shared a post gushing over Pugh’s acting talent, Pugh didn’t react to it at all. No like, no comment.
All of this would be kind of speculative at best if it wasn’t for new comments made by Pugh in her interview for Harper’s Bazaar about the way the film has been marketed. “When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it. It’s not why I’m in this industry.” She also won’t be making any press appearances for the film besides its premiere at Venice Film Festival.
Olivia Wilde Was Confronted With Legal Papers During Press For The Film
While this isn’t technically drama centred around Don’t Worry Darling and the set, it’s still very much connected to why we’re all talking about it. Back in April, Wilde was served court papers while onstage at CinemaCon, during publicity for the film. Appearing shocked but maintaining her composure, Wilde continued with the presser but later we discovered the papers were custody related and delivered on behalf of her ex-husband, Jason Sudeikis.
Sudeikis denied any intention behind the papers being served at CinemaCon, saying he didn’t know when they would be given to Wilde. However in early August court documents saw Wilde’s camp claim the incident was an attempt to “embarrass” and “threaten” her.
Wilde later mentioned the moment in her Variety interview, saying “In any other workplace, it would be seen as an attack. It was really upsetting. It shouldn’t have been able to happen. There was a huge breach in security, which is really scary. The hurdles that you had to jump through to get into that room with several badges, plus special COVID tests that had to be taken days in advance, which gave you wristbands that were necessary to gain access to the event — this was something that required forethought.”
Rumours Fly That Florence Pugh Took Issue With Olivia Wilde & Harry Styles Starting A Relationship
Pugh’s possible issues with Don’t Worry Darling continued, with rumours flying that she was not impressed with Styles’ and Wilde’s relationship.
“I can tell you for a fact that Flo seeing Olivia and Harry all over each other on set did not go down well,” a source told Page Six back in July. “Jason and the kids visited Olivia on set at the beginning a few times, so I think this all made people feel a little uncomfortable,” the source added.
Shia LaBeouf Releases A Damning Video Seemingly Catching Olivia Wilde In A Lie
So that brings us to the current contention between Olivia Wilde and Shia Labeouf. Labeouf was originally cast in the lead role of Jack, but according to Wilde was fired due to his “combative energy” acting process. “I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them. That was my job,” she continued.
LaBeouf then released receipts – screenshots of texts and a video he says Wilde sent him on August 19, 2020, days after he says they had a conversation about his wanting to leave the production. In the video, Wilde pleads with LaBeouf to return to the film, saying she is “not ready to give up on this yet.” She then alludes to tension between LaBeouf and Pugh. “You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us. 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?”
LaBeouf’s screenshots and video seem to discredit Wilde’s statement that he was fired, which teamed with the strange behaviour of Pugh has led many to believe the Don’t Worry Darling feuds are more legitimate than Wilde has made out. While we don’t have her side of the story yet (she hasn’t commented after their release) the odds seem to be stacking against her, whether fairly or not.
