The Oscar-nominated Midsommar actress, Florence Pugh, is definitely one of the biggest highlights of Olivia Wilde’s upcoming, highly anticipated release Don’t Worry Darling (DWD). Between shooting this period drama-sci-fi thriller with Wilde to now completely shunning the movie, what really transpired between the two women? Here’s the complete breakdown of what we know happened thus far.
Discover our latest podcast
The not-so-secret affair
DWD marks pop-star-turned-actor Harry Styles’ debut as a full-blown lead in a Hollywood feature film, his first gig was a collaborative effort in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (2017).
Soon after the pop sensation took over the role of Jack from Shia LaBeouf, there were reports of Wilde getting cosy with her lead actor on set while she was still with her partner of seven years, Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis.
Thiswas, allegedly, one of the reasons Florence Pugh got real upset with Wilde, according to a news report by PageSix. Olivia Wilde continued being close to Styles while Jason Sudeikis was visiting them on set along with the two kids the couple shares, according to the same report. In short, Pugh couldn’t stomach the affair.
Clashing of ideologies pertaining to sex
The film has been widely discussed, and promoted, for Pugh’s hot and steamy sex scenes with Harry Styles. But the sceneis looked at differently by both these women. In an interview with Vogue, talking about the sex scene between Styles and Pugh, Wilde said, ‘(the audience) realize how rarely they see female hunger, and specifically this type of female pleasure,’ and asked herself ‘Why isn’t there any good sex in film anymore?’
On the contrary, Pugh told Harper’s Bazaarthat she didn’t come to the industry to have sex scenes with ‘the most famous man in the world’. She said:
When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it. It’s not why I’m in this industry.
Pay disparity
Because of Harry Styles dating the director, it has been reported that the actress was paid way less than the former One Direction-er, who, some say, has limited acting experience as compared to her. It was reported by The Mary Sue that Pugh was only paid $700,000 for her role, while Harry Styles’ got a whopping $2.5 million.Wilde, however, has refuted these reports. She told Variety:
... A nonexistent pay disparity between our lead and supporting actors really upset me. I’m a woman who has been in this business for over 20 years, and it’s something that I have fought for myself and others, especially being a director. There is absolutely no validity to those claims,
Additionally, the controversial I-fired-Shia-LaBeouf narrative has added fuel to the fire and now with Pugh limiting her press promotion to just the Venice Film Festival screening on September 5 (along with the red carpet photo-op)… some speculate that maybe there’s some truth to the story of these women feuding over one thing or another.
Here’s what the Internet thinks:
Read more:
⋙ Shia LeBeouf vs. Olivia Wilde: Video leaks, getting fired...Here's everything you need to know
⋙ Phillip Schofield, Michelle Visage and Harry Styles receive nods from Britain’s LGBT+ awards