How Olivia Wilde’s ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ became the most scandalous film of the year

The new psychological thriller don’t worry darlingwhich premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September and is set to hit theaters later this month is arguably the most anticipated non-franchise film of the year – which is saying a lot considering no one seems to know what it’s about goes.

However, the headlines surrounding director Olivia Wilde and her stars Harry Styles and Florence Pugh ahead of his debut have become a melodrama in their own right, threatening to overshadow the forthcoming press tour and perhaps even the project itself. Let’s dive into chaos!

It’s funny to think back to the seemingly harmless, siled news stories that have since blossomed into a full-blown tabloid saga. In September 2020, we learned Styles would replace Shia LeBeouf as the film’s male lead after Wilde fired honey boy Actor for “display[ing] bad behavior” on the set. Two months later, Wilde was back in the news when she and her fiancé (and the father of their two children) Saturday night live Alum Jason Sudeikis, announced their split, mostly just confusingly People who thought they were married during the nine years they were together. In the words of the Real Housewife of Beverly Hills Kyle Richards, it was hard to imagine how awful things would get soon after.

The media circus officially increased when Wilde and Styles were photographed holding hands at a wedding a few months later in January 2021. Lots of social media users, especially Style’s army of stans and people who seem to have very strong feelings Teddy Lassodidn’t take this new couple warning lightly, criticizing the couple’s 10-year age difference and speculating that Wilde had started an affair with Styles during filming before she and Sudeikis ended it.

Despite the initial backlash, Wilde and Styles haven’t been particularly shy about their romance. While no one has spoken directly about their relationship, the two have been photographed snuggling up against one another on several occasions, and Wilde has been spotted rocking out at Styles’ concerts. Who can forget the long appreciation of the screed book smart Director posted about Styles on her Instagram just because he came on set and did the job he was paid to do? Also several songs on Style’s latest album Harry’s houseespecially the rather rough track “Cinema” seems to be dedicated to his new Hollywood beau.

Like most women who date famous men with 14-year-old suitors, Wilde has been the victim of some pretty vicious attacks from Styles’ aggressive online fan base since the couple went public. She also became the subject of pregnancy rumors after someone snapped a picture of her waiting for the subway a few months ago. However, that anti-Wilde sentiment on social media was kicked into high gear when she was infamously served with custody papers by a trial server representing Sudeikis during her promotion don’t worry darling at the CinemaCon last April.

Envelope Gate instantly became one of the most shocking and random celebrity stories of the year, leaving people wondering if Sudeikis arranged for his ex to receive the documents in a public setting to humiliate her. Others speculated that it was Wilde who revealed the contents of the envelope to the press to get back at him. Sudeikis has since denied orchestrating the ambush. However, Wilde accused her ex of “intent[ing] to threaten [her] and catch [her] unprepared” in court documents acquired from page six last week.

Now how does Florence Pugh fit into all of this? Given Wilde and Sudeikis’ hostile split, rumors have been swirling about tensions between the 26-year-old actress, who stars alongside Styles don’t worry darlingand Wilde are making waves on social media.

It turns out that the widespread conspiracy via Film Tik Tok and Film Twitter that Pugh Wilde despises has multiple layers, all stemming from her romance with Styles. In July, a source said page six that Pugh felt uncomfortable seeing the pair on the set of One Above the Other don’t worry darling as Sudeikis and her two children frequently attended the production. Before, people pointed out that Pugh did not post the official trailer for the film or any other stills from the film on her Instagram account, choosing instead to promote other projects such as her upcoming film Oppenheimer. (Pugh has since posted a promotional shot of her and Styles on her main feed).

Social media users also caught wind of a quote from Pugh’s recent cover story Harper’s Bazaar this was largely interpreted as an insult to Wilde boasting around the film’s supposedly “wild” sex scenes to the press and on Instagram. When asked about the hype surrounding her steamy scenes with Styles, Pugh replied, “If it’s about your sex scenes or watching the most famous man in the world fuck somebody, we don’t do it. That’s not why I’m in this industry. Obviously, it is in the nature of hiring the world’s most famous pop star that you will have such conversations. That’s just not what I’m going to discuss because [this movie is] bigger and better than that. And the people who made it are bigger and better than that.”

Whether or not Pugh was directing her comments at Wilde’s or Styles’ fan base, she at least sounded … upset, which is the only evidence online detectives need to push their alleged beef with Wilde even further.

Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty

Additionally, Pugh revealed on profile that she recently broke up with her boyfriend of four years. scrubs Actor Zach Braff. The pair’s 21-year age difference prompted backlash from people who felt their romance was inappropriate or even predatory, to which Pugh previously responded. Now that the actress has spoken publicly about her split, who knows if it’s something she’ll be pushed about when she starts promoting don’t worry darlingin addition to all the other drama surrounding the film?

We’ll have to wait and see if the press cycle for don’t worry darling becomes one of the most embarrassing in recent memory. Even if all three parties are on friendly terms and handle the media’s more personal issues with grace, there will certainly be a number of people looking for group excitement online. The culmination of all this drama is both fascinating and more than a little sad.

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