Drama Don’t Worry Darling: Olivia Wilde Responds to ‘Fall Out’ Rumors With Florence Pugh at Venice Film Festival

Olivia Wilde asked if there had been a “falling out” between her and Florence Poug.

The director answered a journalist’s question during the don’t worry darling press conference at the Venice International Film Festival.

Wilde was present alongside the stars Harry Styles, Gemma Chanand Chris Pine. Its main actor, Pugh, however, was absent.

news that Pugh would not participate in the panel came in the middle reports of a quarrel between her and Wilde which have been in progress since the beginning of this year.

“Can you just clear things up and say if there was a fall there and if so why, because that’s something people discuss?” a reporter asked Wilde at the conference.

The director replied: “Florence is a force and we are very grateful that she can do it tonight despite the fact that she is in production on Dunes. As a director, I know how upsetting it is to lose an actor even for a day, so I’m very grateful to her and Denis Villeneuve for helping us out – we’re so thrilled to be able to celebrate his work tonight.

She continued, “I can’t say enough how honored I am to have her as my lead. She’s amazing in the movie and as with all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds on itself, I don’t feel the need to contribute to it, I think it’s fed well enough.

Variety confirmed that Pugh’s absence from the panel was due to the actor’s flight arriving in Venice after the press conference. She will walk the red carpet for the event later Monday (September 5).

Reports of a falling out between the director and the actor intensified in August after Wilde claimed she fired LaBeouf in 2020 in order to create a “safe and trusting environment” on set for Poug.

However, LaBeouf denied being fired and sent Variety a video he says he received from Wilde, which shows the director asking him not to leave the project.

Alluding to the tension between LaBeouf and Pugh in the video, Wilde says LaBeouf’s departure “could be a bit of a red flag for Miss Flo.”

Wilde has said the feud was nothing but ‘made up clickbait’while Pugh did not comment or refute the rumours.

Last week, Wilde praised the “fiercely talented” actor in a new interview.

You can read a full timeline of all the behind the scenes drama from don’t worry darling here.

The first reviews of don’t worry darling have seen reviews be left unenthusiastic about the film, with Pugh’s performance nonetheless singled out for praise.

In a three star review for The Independent, Geoffrey Macnab writes: “It is not the disaster that some had predicted – but it is a messy and convoluted affair with very contrived plots. Styles gives a surprisingly dull, underpowered performance like Jack. To be fair, he plays a very boring character, a kind of Stepford husband.

Other reviews have also abounds with criticism of Styles’ performance.

On the red carpet at the Venice premiere, Pugh made a cryptic remark that it was “inspiring” to see women “pushing back and saying ‘no’, on and off camera”.

don’t worry darling hits theaters Friday, September 23.