Don't worry, Olivia Wilde: The tumultuous Don't Worry Darling press tour is nearly over.
But first, the director appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and addressed the drama surrounding her latest film. Rumors suggest there was a feud between Wilde and star Florence Pugh over Wilde's relationship with Pugh's co-star, Harry Styles.
Wilde shot down the "weird rumors," including the more absurd claim that Styles spit on co-star Chris Pine at the movie's Venice Film Festival Premiere.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
"People will look for drama anywhere they can," Wilde said. "Harry did not spit on Chris, in fact. ... [But] people can look at a video that shows evidence of someone not spitting on someone else, and they'll still see what they want to see."
When Colbert asked if there truly was no tension between Wilde and Pugh, Wilde said she has "nothing but respect for Florence's talent." Pugh has conspicuously done nearly no press for Don't Worry Darling, but Wilde chalked this up to the actress simply being busy shooting Dune: Part Two.
Still more drama involved a dispute over whether Wilde fired Shia LaBeouf, who was originally cast as Styles' character. Wilde has said she fired LaBeouf, while LaBeouf says he quit. On The Late Show, Wilde claimed the actor gave her an "ultimatum," telling her to pick "him or Florence," and she chose Pugh.
"We had to replace Shia," Wilde said, arguing that whether this means she fired him is a "question of semantics."
Wilde also suggested there's an element of sexism to the drama, telling Colbert, "I don't feel like my male directing colleagues are answering questions about their cast." For his part, Colbert agreed, dubbing his own questions ones that Wilde "shouldn't have to answer."
