'Don't Worry Darling' Movie Controversy Explained

By Ashley Turner

Don't Worry Darling's film promotion has become one of the most drama-laden in recent memory. Even those who don't follow Harry Styles, celebrity gossip, or movies, in general, are aware of the ongoing controversy surrounding the film. Olivia Wilde directs the psychological thriller, which stars Florence Pugh as Alice Chambers, a woman whose life begins to unravel as she discovers secrets about her idyllic husband and life. Harry Styles was also cast (along with Wilde herself in a supporting role), and the movie was filmed from October 2020 to February 2021. 

Its marketing has been eclipsed by a never-ending stream of source quotes, gossip, rumors, interviews, and reports of tensions between Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh. As a result, the internet has been talking more about the behind-the-scenes saga than the actual film, possibly affecting its reception even before the release date. It is unlikely that the film would receive this much attention if it weren't for all its drama, which might lead to an unexpectedly large audience when the film debuts on September 23. Much of the story behind Don't Worry Darling's production is still unclear, so read on for a timeline of key moments in the saga to date.

TikTok rumors about the real conflict / Obsession over Florence Pugh's social media

@klatschhh

That director is wild :/ Story was sent to me. No warranty for correctness. #story #storytime #tea #celeb

♬ Senorita Chicolita – Orchestra Heinz Kiessling

A TikTok hinting at Don't Worry Darling's behind-the-scenes drama surfaced in October 2021. According to the user who posted it, she posts skits based on anonymous stories she hears on movie sets and leaves out names and productions for the viewers to solve. Several clues in the video pointed to the production of Don't Worry Darling, including allegations Pugh had to take over and essentially direct the film after Wilde became too enamored with Styles.

Due to the TikTok, many social media users started following Pugh's promotion of the film on social media. The actress generally often posts about her projects on social media and interacts with former and current co-workers. But users noticed that she barely promoted Don't Worry Darling at all. She'd post something about upcoming projects like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish or Oppenheimer when a trailer would drop, but not for Don't Worry Darling. In July, fans noticed Pugh posted about Oppenheimer on the same day Wilde heavily promoted Don't Worry Darling, leading to speculation concerning discord between the two.

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Wilde gets served in front of an audience.

The series of events was arguably set in motion when Wilde was presented with an envelope during a Don't Worry Darling presentation at CinemaCon in April. Deadline later reported that the envelope (labeled as "personal and confidential") contained custody documents from ex Jason Sudeikis.

An insider later informed The Holywood Reporter that Sudeikis was unaware of when or where the documents would be served, saying he would never approve of such a practice. Wilde later called the act "vicious" and questioned how the server got into the event, suggesting they would have handled it differently in a traditional office environment. A judge dismissed a petition against Wilde on the broader custody issue in August, according to Page Six.

In November 2020, an anonymous source claiming to have been "close to the couple" said their split occurred early in 2020, after a seven-year engagement. "It's been amicable and they've transitioned into a great co-parenting routine," the source added, per People. Sudeikis, however, spoke candidly about the relationship's failure in a GQ profile the following year, saying he'd "have a better understanding of why" it ended after a year," adding that he was trying to figure out what he could learn about himself from the experience.

"That's an experience that you either learn from or make excuses about," he said. "You take some responsibility for it, hold yourself accountable for what you do, but then also endeavor to learn something beyond the obvious from it." Wilde refuted what she called "false narratives and drama" unfairly attributed to their relationship in her October 2022 cover story with Vanity Fair.

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Wilde says she fired "combative" Shia Lebeouf from movie/Lebeouf answers with receipts

Wilde talked about Shia LaBeouf leaving the production in an August interview with Variety, saying, "As someone who is such an admirer of his work, (LaBeouf's) process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions. He has a process that, in some ways, seems to require a combative energy, and I don't personally believe that is conducive to the best performances. I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them. That was my job."

A few days after Wilde's interview, LaBeouf sent messages to Variety describing his exchanges with the director before leaving Don't Worry Darling. He also forwarded a copy of an email he sent her after the Variety interview, saying in part, "You and I both know the reasons for my exit. I quit your film because your actors and I couldn't find time to rehearse."

LaBeouf claims he quit Don't Worry Darling on Aug. 17, 2020. In a video he sent to Variety that was allegedly filmed on Aug. 19, 2020, and has since leaked, Wilde tells him, "I feel like I'm not ready to give up on this yet, and I, too, am heartbroken and I want to figure this out. 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. If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace—and I respect your point of view, I respect hers—but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope? Will you let me know?"

Wilde told Vanity Fair in September that she fired Shia after Pugh told her she felt "uncomfortable with LaBeouf's behavior" in preproduction. "My responsibility was towards her," she said. Regarding the interview, LaBeouf told The Hollywood Reporter, "It is what it is — every blessing to her and her film."

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Pugh and Wilde's alleged "disagreements" and more Shia texts

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(Photo: Tumblr @visiblereceipts)

A source revealed to Page Six in July that Pugh was unhappy with Styles and Wilde's relationship (which began during the filming of Don't Worry Darling), saying, "I can tell you for a fact that Flo seeing Olivia and Harry all over each other on set did not go down well as Olivia was still with Jason [Sudeikis] when she first hooked up with Harry."

The source added, "Jason and the kids visited Olivia on set at the beginning a few times, so I think this all made people feel a little uncomfortable." However, the account is widely contested, as many other sources claim Olivia and Jason broke up before Don't Worry Darling began filming. "It's not like she's rushing into something," an Entertainment Tonight source said. "Olivia and Jason talk all the time and are still close because of the kids. It's highly unlikely he was blind-sided by this news."

In August, a source told Us Weekly that "Florence and Olivia have had several disagreements personally and professionally, that's why Florence isn't doing any press for the movie." Then, in early September, social media users leaked texts allegedly exchanged between Pugh and LaBeouf during preproduction. According to some fans, these texts, which were posted on Tumblr, show that the two actors communicated amicably, and there were no signs of tension as Wilde had claimed. According to the texts, they couldn't agree on a rehearsal time, and Pugh allegedly asked him, "Where did you get me being scared of you from?"

Vanity Fair also asked the director about the alleged texts between Pugh and LaBeouf, and Wilde said, "This issue is so much more nuanced than can be explained in private texts released out of context. All I'll say is he was replaced, and there was no going forward with him. I wish him the best in his recovery."

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Pugh and Wilde differ on sex scenes

Based on the discussion around DWD's sexual content, it is possible to get the impression that it contains many sexual scenes, but this isn't the case. However, the topic of sexuality has been a major aspect of the film's promotional campaign. In an interview for Harper's Bazaar's August cover story, Pugh argued that focusing on excerpted bits from a larger work of art diminishes the art by not allowing it to be appreciated in its entirety.

"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," she told Andrea Cuttler. "It's not why I'm in this industry. Obviously, the nature of hiring the most famous pop star in the world, you're going to have conversations like that. That's just not what I'm going to be discussing because [this movie is] bigger and better than that. And the people who made it are bigger and better than that."

Wilde has taken a distinctly different perspective in the previously mentioned Variety profile. She cited Don't Worry Darling for allowing her to portray "female pleasure" in a way rarely seen in depictions of heterosexual relationships. "The impractical nature of [the two main characters'] sex speaks to their ferocious desire for one another. I think it's integral to the story itself and how the audience is meant to connect to them," she told the outlet.

Wilde also gave an interview to Vogue in December 2021 and discussed her desire to make a film about good sex, explaining, "I kept saying, 'Why isn't there any good sex in film anymore?'" She also said she wanted the audience to "realize how rarely they see female hunger, and specifically this type of female pleasure."

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The Venice premiere is a fountain of memes

As reported in August, Pugh would limit her Don't Worry Darling press appearances to the Venice Film Festival's premiere in 2022. "She'll be doing greetings for us from the set of Dune because she's not doing press," a studio executive told The Wrap. The spotlight was on the Don't Worry Darling cast at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 5, where their film premiered. Variety reported that Pugh opted not to attend Don't Worry Darling's press conference since her flight from Budapest arrived after the photo call.

Wilde avoided discussing Pugh's rumored feud with her and LaBeouf's controversy. "We're thrilled we'll get to celebrate her work tonight," Wilde said about her alleged rift with Pugh. "As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds itself. I don't feel the need to contribute. It's sufficiently well nourished."

Pugh walked the carpet for the premiere of the film and posed for photos with the cast without much drama. Pugh and Wilde's interactions on the red carpet, Styles and Pugh's poses on the red carpet, and whether Styles looked at the film's director were all discussed by fans and critics alike. Also, Chris Pine's uninterested and spaced-out appearance at the press conference quickly became a meme.

Neither Wilde nor Styles were photographed together. Wilde took solo photos and group shots at the premiere, and when Wilde, Styles, and Pugh sat together, people heavily scrutinized their seating arrangement. In the meantime, Pugh refused to make eye contact with Wilde during the movie's standing ovation, and Pugh's stylist posted Instagram photos of her captioned "Miss Flo."

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SpitGate

Twitter became convinced that Harry Styles spit on his co-star Chris Pine after a viral video surfaced of Styles taking his seat next to Pine at the premiere. Several people believed the singer spit on Pine as he sat down, causing Pine to look down at his chair and then smile, leading to the debate over whether it happened. Many Styles' fans defended him, slowing down the clip to clarify the incident. Even those unfamiliar with the film and the ongoing drama discussed the moment on Twitter.

Pine's rep released a statement on Sept. 2 denying that Harry Styles spit on the actor. It read: "This is a ridiculous story — a complete fabrication and the result of an odd online illusion that is clearly deceiving and allows for foolish speculation. Just to be clear, Harry Styles did not spit on 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."

Styles joked about the situation during his New York concert on Sept. 7. "This is our 10th show at Madison Square Garden, it is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful to be back here. I just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine," Styles said in a video a fan posted online. "But fret not, we're back!"

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