Olivia Wilde was strictly business while promoting her new film Don’t Worry Darling at the 2022 Venice Film Festival Monday.
Wilde, who directed the film, was joined by its stars Chris Pine, Harry Styles and Gemma Chan. Florence Pugh also stars in the film, but was not in attendance for the press conference. Noticing Pugh’s absence, a reporter asked Wilde to “address if there’s been a falling out” between the two actresses, but Wilde director responded with nothing but compliments for Pugh.
“Florence is a force, and we are so grateful that she’s able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune,” Wilde replied, according to Entertainment Tonight. “I know, as a director, how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day, so I’m very grateful to her, to Denis Villeneuve for helping us. And we’re really thrilled we’ll get to celebrate her work tonight. I can’t say enough how honored I am to have her as our lead. She’s amazing in the film.”
Wilde added, “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. It’s sufficiently well nourished.”
If you haven’t been keeping score, reports are Pugh was reportedly upset about the marketing focus on the sexual content of Don’t Worry Darling, as well as other issues. Some of those are said to involve Pugh and the film’s former star, Shia LaBeouf, whom Wilde recently said she fired — LaBeouf countered that he quit — and replaced with Styles, with whom Wilde’s now in a romantic relationship.
When another journalist attempted to get clarification regarding LaBeouf, the panel moderator reportedly stepped in, saying, “I think this question has been answered when she talked about the internet.”
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