The drama that deserved its own film is something Pugh won’t address any time soon
The Don’t Worry Darling drama… A chapter in internet history, a lesson in pop culture, a colossal elephant in every Florence Pugh interview that she won’t address.
Frankly, it’s quite hard to pinpoint when exactly the drama surrounding Olivia Wilde’s directorial effort blew up the way that it did.
Starring Pugh and Harry Styles, Don’t Worry Darling is a Stepford Wives-esque tale of a husband and wife living in a seemingly ideal town before realizing that something sinister may be looming underneath.
Pugh and Styles star in the film. (Warner Bros.)
But it’s perhaps the rumors of feuds, alleged video calls, and even mysterious spitting that many still remember the film by.
On the one hand, there was drama surrounding the film’s initial lead Shia LaBeouf whose abuse allegations reportedly led to friction on set prompting Wilde to claim that she fired him. Of course, there was then the Variety cover piece that included an email LaBeouf sent to Wilde claiming that she didn’t fire him and that he left over timing issues.
And who could forget the video LaBeouf also sent to Variety — that Wilde allegedly sent him two days after he quit the project in August 2020 — where she could be heard saying: “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.”
The drama made headlines for months leading to the film’s release. (Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
We also haven’t even scratched the surface of the alleged drama that occurred when Styles stepped in to replace LaBeouf and began a romance with Wilde.
At that point, sources told Vulture that Pugh and Wilde would get into a ‘screaming match’ because of Wilde’s ‘frequent, unexplained absences’ where ‘Olivia and Harry would just disappear.’
Unfortunately, I’m not done because there was also the drama at the 2022 Venice Film Festival when everyone and their mothers were convinced that Styles spat on Don’t Worry Darling co-star Chris Pine.
“There is nothing but respect between these two men and any suggestion otherwise is a blatant attempt to create drama that simply does not exist,” they added.
Pugh shared that she doesn’t want to distract from her new work. (Marleen Moise/Getty Images)
Throw in more allegations, a couple of other headlines, and long story short, Don’t Worry Darling arguably had one of the most memorable press runs in recent memory but Pugh won’t entertain any more conversation on it.
Advert
“So I’m going to politely move away from that,” Pugh concluded.
Wilde has repeatedly denied allegations of a feud between her and Pugh telling reporters at the Venice Film Festival, “Florence is a force.”
“As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds itself,” she added. “I don’t feel the need to contribute. I think it’s sufficiently well-nourished.”
