Olivia Wilde shoots down rumors of feud with Florence Pugh as actress skips 'Don't Worry Darling' event
VENICE, ITALY: Olivia Wilde has put a stop to rumors about her beef with 'Don't Worry Darling' actress Florence Pugh, calling it nothing but "invented clickbait". At a press conference on Monday held for 'Don't Worry Darling', the filmmaker praised Pugh and shot down rumors of a squabble with the actor.
The premiere screening for 'Don’t Worry Darling' was scheduled on September 5 at the ongoing Venice Film Festival. The movie's lead actress Florence Pugh was not in attendance at the press conference of the movie, which only added fire to the rumors being true. However, Wilde refused to contribute to the endless rumours.
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The festival officially noted that her absence was because her flight from Budapest, where she’s currently shooting for the sequel to 'Dune', would land only after the press conference. However, Florence joined co-stars Harry Styles, Chris Pine, and Gemma Chan, and the director for the premiere and red carpet just in time.
The rumors have been doing rounds since early this year claiming that all is not good between them. Reports said the fallout was over alleged pay disparity. When asked by the media to comment on the rumours, Wilde said, “Florence is a force and we are so grateful that she is able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune.”
She also said she's happy to have Pugh as her main lead. “She’s amazing in the film and as for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds itself. I don’t feel the need to contribute, I think it’s sufficiently well nourished,” she said, adding that the rumours about the feud are just an “invented clickbait".
The rumored beef between the director and actor could have started after Wilde told Variety that she fired LaBeouf from 'Don’t Worry Darling', stating that “his process was not conducive to the ethos I demand in my productions” while also claiming to have a “no a-holes policy.” LaBeouf refuted this claim and shared a video sent to him from the director in which Wilde says, “This is a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo” - suggesting Pugh was the one who needed to really commit to make the situation work.
There were also rumors about Pugh and Wilde disagreed over the direction of the narrative in 'Don’t Worry Darling', with the actress voicing disappointment that attention on the film had been reduced to sex scenes; this could also explain why Pugh is playing down the promotion of the upcoming film. Wilde is currently dating Harry Styles, and there are rumors that the director and Styles began an affair during the filming of 'Don’t Worry Darling', and that cinematographer Matthew Libatique had to step in and direct when Wilde became too distracted with the budding romance; it might also explain why Pugh has chosen to praise Libatique while remaining silent about Wilde’s contribution to the production.