While Olivia Wilde’s psychological thriller ‘Don’t Worry Darling‘ is one of the most anticipated upcoming films this year, more and more conflict surrounding the film is being brought to the surface.
In an interview by Variety earlier this week, Wilde revealed her reasoning for firing Shia LaBeouf from the production in early 2020. LaBeouf was originally cast for the male lead role alongside actress Florence Pugh, but allegedly was let go due to his “combative energy”, in an attempt to protect Pugh. Wilde stated:
In response to the cover story, LaBeouf sent emails to Variety asserting the fact that he actually quit the film “due to lack of rehearsal time”. He also provided a video from Wilde asking him to consider rejoining the project.
The leaked video of Wilde in her car seemingly supports LaBeouf’s claim, with Wilde asking for reconciliation and declaring she “isn’t ready to give up on this yet”.
She also alludes to possible tension between Pugh and LaBeouf, saying, “I think this might be a bit of a wakeup call for Miss Flo… if she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point, and if you guys can make peace… is there hope? Will you let me know?”.
It has been public knowledge that LaBeouf’s ex, singer-songwriter FKA twigs, filed a lawsuit against him back in 2020, suing him for “sexual battery, assault and emotional distress”.
With this information, tied in with the context of Wilde’s leaked video message, fans online are outraged, piecing together the idea that Pugh potentially felt uncomfortable working with LaBeouf due to the abuse allegations.
“She wanted Florence to make peace with an abuser, you cannot make this up,” said one Twitter user.
“So yes, Florence Pugh NEVER said she felt uncomfortable. But people assumed it, because Olivia Wilde herself said she wanted F to feel ‘safe’. They assumed it was dangerous,” said another.
It was announced a few days ago that Pugh will be doing very minimal promotion for the film. She will be doing no press outside of attending the Venice Film Festival alongside Harry Styles, who replaced LaBeouf in his role.
The main reasoning behind Pugh’s lack of promotion is due to filming in Budapest for “Dune: Part Two”, but people are speculating these alleged ongoing feuds also play a role in why she’s staying silent.
“Don’t Worry Darling” premieres at the Venice Film Festival on September 5 and officially hits theaters everywhere on September 23.