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Everything to know about Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh's alleged feud

Hollywood It girl Florence Pugh and former boybander (but consistent heartthrob) Harry Styles may have starred as on-screen lovers in Don't Worry Darling, but it's director Olivia Wilde that captured the heart of the singer off-screen – and that's reportedly (only) one factor contributing to some tension between the trio, if you give weight to rumours.

All eyes were on Pugh, 27, Styles, 29, and Wilde, 38, at the movie's world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2022 to see if the rift rumblings were, in fact, true, and the press conference (which Pugh skipped, though she was in Venice at the time), red carpet (which Pugh attended with her grandmother) and premiere (which ended with a four-minute standing ovation Pugh walked out of) definitely did not disappoint.

But while everyone was so focused on Venice, more information (text messages) leaked online that, for gossipmongers, appeared to further poke a hole in the 'lie' Wilde allegedly told that seemingly started this 'feud' in the first place.

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Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles, Florence Pugh

And as the film geared up for a wider international release last year, rumours of an on-set screaming match between Wilde and Pugh emerged, which crew members denied. And then, a secret kiss reportedly shared between Styles and Pugh was highlighted as the alleged feud's point of origin, throwing everyone for a loop.

After all that, Wilde and Styles' real life relationship came to a close in November 2022, but, in true Hollywood style, sleeping dogs are never left to lie. It's now February 2023, and after Wilde shared a cryptic message about love in the wake of the most talked about romance of 2022 ending, Pugh has given an interview where the alleged feud was once again mentioned.

What a mouthful. What a handful. What a good old-fashioned Tinseltown drama. So what is, exactly, going on and why is everyone still talking about the cast of Don't Worry Darling's behind-the-scenes behaviour rather than what was on the screen? It's literally been years. Here's everything you need to know.

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Don't Worry Darling cast

Florence Pugh artfully sidesteps questions about Don't Worry Darling drama in new interview

It is now February 2023. And yes, the drama, which started in April 2020 and persisted in the public eye for seemingly all throughout 2022, is somewhat continuing.

Speaking to Vanity Fair about her 2023 film The Wonder, Pugh refused to touch on the alleged behind-the-scenes feud when the reporter explicitly asked her about it.

During the interview, Pugh was probed about the "media frenzy" plaguing Don't Worry Darling's release in September 2022, a question the British actress promptly shut down.

"Ideally I don't really want to be going down the Don't Worry Darling conversation because this whole release for The Wonder has been so positive and I've been really excited to talk about that," Pugh told interviewer David Canfield.

"I don't really feel the need to go into the nitty-gritty details of Don't Worry Darling. So if it's OK, I'll probably just let that one sit."

She did, however, open up about how she coped when she was "put under a microscope" during the media and fan frenzy that was 2022's Venice Film Festival. Read more here.

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Olivia Wilde shares cryptic post about love after Harry Styles split

After two years of dating, in November 2022, Styles and Wilde called time on their romance – and reportedly there was "no bad blood between them" as the decision to break up was mutual.

"Harry didn't dump Olivia or vice versa," a source told Page Six at the time. "It's impossible to have a relationship when he's in every continent next year [Styles is currently on a worldwide tour] and Olivia has her job and her kids. This is the right thing for both of them."

Weeks later, however, it emerged that Wilde was finding the split "difficult" as she thought the unspecified "issues" they were having would be something "they were gonna work through."

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And then, almost two months after the break up, she shared a cryptic message about love to her Instagram Story.

"I'd hate to die without having loved," read the post, a still from the 2004 romantic drama Tropical Malady that Wilde shared to her Instagram Story, though both Wilde and Styles have yet to explicitly address the split themselves publicly.

Let's rewind the tape and go back to where this all started.

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Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh

Are Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh feuding?

Well... things between the pair are not looking good months on from the film's release.

For months ahead of the film's press tour, infamous celebrity gossip account DeuxMoi shared blind items from followers hinting at a feud, which were speculated to be about Wilde, Pugh, Styles and the production of Don't Worry Darling. No 'reputable' source, however, commented on the alleged feud until late July 2022, which only widened the floodgates.

"I can tell you for a fact that [Pugh] 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," a source alleged to Page Six in July 2022.

The publication highlighted Wilde's split from Ted Lasso star and former fiancé Jason Sudeikis as the supposed origin of the alleged feud, and the fact the timeline between Wilde's split from the Saturday Night Live alum and father of her two children – eight-year-old Otis and five-year-old Daisy – and the start of her relationship with the One Direction alum was a bit... murky.

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Olivia Wilde and actor Jason Sudeikis attend the "Race" New York screening held at Landmark's Sunshine Cinema on February 17, 2016 in New York City.

In November 2020, Sudeikis and Wilde announced the end of their nine-year relationship, with sources saying at the time that Wilde's relationship with Styles was the main reason for the breakup, and that the couple had allegedly been having an affair for a month. Wilde, however, told Vogue in December 2021 affair murmurings were a "false narrative." Styles and Wilde's relationship started making headlines in January 2021.

The insider told Page Six in late July 2022 that at the beginning of Don't Worry Darling's production – the movie started filming in October 2020, paused for two weeks due to COVID-19 that November, and ended in February 2021 – Sudeikis would visit the set with his and Wilde's children, which made for an uncomfortable environment due to the alleged affair. Styles was the film's leading man though a sidekick to Pugh's role, and Wilde directed and also starred in it.

Wilde once again denied affair rumours in a Vanity Fair profile in September 2022, which perhaps didn't gain as much traction as she may have hoped considering it was released on the same day Queen Elizabeth II died.

"The complete horses--t idea that I left Jason for Harry is completely inaccurate," Wilde told the publication. "Our relationship was over long before I met Harry. Like any relationship that ends, it doesn't end overnight. Unfortunately, Jason and I had a very bumpy road, and we officially dissolved the relationship towards the beginning of the pandemic."

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Wilde clarified she and her former partner were living together and co-parenting during lockdown, but eventually, it became clear "cohabitating was no longer beneficial for the children" so they started living in separate houses.

More (unverified) blind items submitted to DeuxMoi at this time alleged Wilde favoured the Watermelon Sugar singer on the set of Don't Worry Darling, and was so distracted by her soon-to-be-boyfriend that Pugh – who played Alice Chambers in the film, the lead role and Styles' on-screen wife – had to step in and take over directing.

Wilde rubbished this claim too in her Vanity Fair profile, saying, "The idea that I had five seconds in the day to be distracted by anything is laughable. I was there before everyone. I was there after everyone. And it was a dream. It's not like this work was not enjoyable. It was just all-encompassing."

Don't Worry Darling cinematographer Matthew Libatique also chimed in, adding, "It was one of the most harmonious sets I've ever been on, and I'm in the middle of the storm."

Reported on-set screaming match between Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh

As Don't Worry Darling premiered in the United States on September 23, rumours of an on-set screaming match between Wilde and Pugh emerged.

An anonymous source claimed to Vulture that Pugh grew increasingly frustrated when Wilde and Styles "would just disappear" on set – Wilde previously denied the disappearance rumours. A screaming match allegedly occurred between Wilde and Pugh on the film's set, per Vulture, and reportedly the tension made its way to the top executive of Warner Brother's at the time, Toby Emmerich, who went through a "long negotiation process" with Pugh to ensure she would continue to participate in the film's life cycle "in any way" as to not jeopardise the film's success at box office.

Pugh was largely absent from Don't Worry Darling's press tour, infamously so at the Venice Film Festival and again when she pulled out of the New York City premiere, but she also started posting on social media about the film and including Wilde in the posts, which she had not made a habit of previously.

Several crew members and Warner Bros. studio executives denied screaming match reports to Page Six, with executives Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy telling the publication in a statement: "We are so proud of the work that Olivia Wilde has done making this incredibly beautiful and entertaining film and look forward to collaborating with her again. The studio is very grateful and appreciative of the tireless support by Olivia in bringing her vision to life from production through release. Any suggestion of conflict between the studio and Olivia is simply not true."

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In a statement penned by 40 members of the crew and production team published by People, it was denied that anything unprofessional occurred on the set.

"As a crew, we've avoided addressing the absurd gossip surrounding the movie we're so proud of, but feel the need to correct the anonymous 'sources' quoted in a recent article," the statement read. "Any allegations about unprofessional behavior on the set of Don't Worry Darling are completely false."

The crew called Wilde "an incredible leader and director" who had been "present with and involved in every aspect of production" and "ran this set with class and respect for everyone involved."

"There was never a screaming match between our director and anyone, let alone a member of our cast," the statement continued. "We are happy to put our names on this, as real people who worked on the film, and who have witnessed and benefitted from the collaborative and safe space Olivia creates as a director and leader."

Miri Yoon, who was a producer on the film, made her own statement to People and called Vulture's report "completely unfounded."

"Rumours of screaming matches between our director and leading lady on set are completely unfounded," Yoon said. "We truly hope you enjoy the movie."

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What has Olivia Wilde said about Florence Pugh?

Wilde was (officially) very vocal with praise for Pugh, and on July 22, 2022, when a new trailer for Don't Worry Darling dropped, she shared a post to Instagram of herself watching Pugh act on set, writing, "Watching this woman work was such a f---ing thrill! Cannot wait to show you more."

That post was written after Wilde shared a still of Pugh from the movie earlier that day as well as the new trailer. Pugh, to this day, hasn't acknowledged any of them – not with a like, comment or re-share.

It is worthwhile to note, however, that Wilde's Instagram posts often have comments limited or turned off.

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Shia LaBeouf attends the 'Borg/McEnroe' premiere during the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 7, 2017 in Toronto, Canada.

Leaked video seemingly unravels 'lie' Olivia Wilde told about Shia LaBeouf

Wilde's official social media and interviews were filled with nothing but praise for Pugh – yet a leaked video she reportedly privately sent to actor Shia LaBeouf appeared to show she may have thought something different behind-the-scenes.

For context, LaBeouf was originally cast in Styles' role as Jack opposite Pugh, however, in 2020, it emerged he had dropped out of the production. A few months later, Wilde gave an interview where she somewhat implied he was fired due to her "strict no assholes policy" on set.

Then, in an August 24 cover story with Variety, Wilde opened up for the first time about LaBeouf's departure from Don't Worry Darling, further implying he had been fired. Three days later, he hit back at those claims, leaking videos, emails and screenshots to Variety in an effort to prove he quit the film due to a lack of rehearsal time.

He sent a copy of an email to Variety he claimed to have sent to Wilde the previous week, where he wrote, "Firing me never took place, Olivia. And while I fully understand the attractiveness of pushing that story because of the current social landscape, the social currency that brings. It is not the truth. So I am humbly asking, as a person with an eye toward making things right, that you correct the narrative as best you can."

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But, you might ask, what has this got to do with Florence Pugh? Well, LaBeouf sent Variety a video he claims Wilde sent him two days after he allegedly quit the film, and, in the video, Wilde is driving a car and says she is "not ready to give up on this yet" and also alludes to tension between LaBeouf and Pugh.

"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," she says in the video. "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?"

Needless to say, fans were not happy with the "Miss Flo" business – and Pugh's stylist Rebecca Corbin-Murray even seemingly poked fun at the situation on Instagram, when she shared images of Pugh's red carpet look weeks later at the Venice Film Festival with the caption, "Miss Flo." Fans also noticed, in a mirror selfie taken by Pugh making the rounds on social media, that her Venice Film Festival hair and makeup artists were wearing shirts that said "Miss Flo" on them.

Wilde's stylist Karla Welch, meanwhile, took to her Instagram Story, writing "There's always more to the story..." before sharing a photo of Wilde on the next slide.

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Leaked texts between Florence Pugh and Shia LaBeouf further unravel Olivia Wilde's big 'lie'

As if the leaked video wasn't enough, leaked texts allegedly exchanged between Pugh and LaBeouf seemed to further confirm LaBeouf's story – that he quit Don't Worry Darling due to a lack of rehearsal time, which was initially what the studio said ("scheduling conflict") but refuted by Wilde outright in her Variety cover.

"I say this as someone who is such an admirer of his work. His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions," Wilde told Variety in her August 2022 cover, which LaBeouf later questioned.

"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," she continued. "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."

Shortly after LaBeouf departed Don't Worry Darling, he was sued by his former girlfriend FKA Twigs – which he also addressed publicly around the time he sent Variety texts, emails and videos trying to clear his name in relation to the alleged firing – and that was a factor that seemingly confirmed the narrative Wilde had to "protect" her cast from LaBeouf.

While Variety did not publish the texts or video as part of their LaBeouf follow-up to Wilde's cover, the text messages allegedly exchanged between Pugh and LaBeouf – which further proved LaBeouf's allegations – emerged online one day after the Venice Film Festival premiere.

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Florence Pugh

The text messages seemed to show there was no bad blood between Pugh and LaBeouf, and Pugh even offered to listen to LaBeouf if he needed to "vent" about the drama – which seemed to be that she was unavailable for rehearsals, and alluding to "bigger problems" not concerning their working relationship.

The actress seemingly expressed confusion to LaBeouf about his concerns she was "scared" of him, writing, "That's sad, where did you get me being scared of you from? Don't be silly. I'm sorry you feel that way."

LaBeouf also informed Pugh he would be leaving the film before telling Wilde, writing, "Seems clear we have bigger problems than dates. I will back out in the morning."

On September 22 – the eve of Don't Worry Darling's United States release – Wilde made an appearance on The Late Show, where Stephen Colbert grilled her on the feud rumours, and she clarified if LaBeouf was fired or quit.

"Early on in the process of making the film, as the director, I tried to mediate a situation between people to try to see if they could work together happily," Wilde said. "Once it became clear that it was not a tenable working relationship, I was given an ultimatum. I chose my actress, which I'm very happy I did. At the time, was I bummed that we weren't able to make it work? Sure. Did information about him come to light later that made me confident we made the right decision? Absolutely."

As for why Wilde believes LaBeouf was fired but he believes he quit, she said: "We had to replace Shia. He is a fantastic actor, but it wasn't going to work. When he gave the ultimatum – him or Florence – I chose Florence. That was him feeling he was stepping away and me feeling like we were moving on without him. It's a question of semantics."

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What has Florence Pugh said about Olivia Wilde?

Compared to Wilde, Pugh's silence has been deafening.

Pugh did not comment on the situation with LaBeouf, but fans read in between the lines of her social media posts and official interviews occurring when the drama was at its peak, which were lacking overt mentions of Wilde.

When Pugh was cast in the movie, she was full of praise for Wilde, writing on Instagram in April 2020 alongside the casting announcement: "[Olivia Wilde] just tagged me in a picture *gasp no.1* [Olivia Wilde] casted me in a film *gasp no.2* [Olivia Wilde] is my idol and allowed me to be a part of this fecking incredible cast. Shia?!? Chris [Pine]?!? *gasp no.3* I can't wait to join this project when all of this is over. Until then, masks up. Gloves on. Stay home. Read script 17,000 because.. you know.. it's [Olivia Wilde]!! #DontWorryDarling."

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Florence Pugh and Harry Styles in Don't Worry Darling

When Styles was announced as LaBeouf's replacement in September 2020, Pugh also wrote on Instagram: "Hells yeah. So so excited to have you on board!!"

Since then? Crickets, when you compare it to Wilde's public praise of Pugh. In fact, when Pugh was asked about the movie at an event in June 2022, she praised the cinematographer, the stylists and Styles rather than Wilde. And Pugh's fans definitely noticed.

"It was a joy to walk into the hair and makeup trailer every day," the actress said of the film's styling team, and said of the cinematography a highlight was "the way that everything looks delicious and golden."

Pugh also said the Fine Line artist was "a total professional and it was a great experience working together."

The actress is known for vigorously celebrating all the projects she's involved in on her social media pages, and on the same day in July that Wilde made both her posts about Pugh and the new Don't Worry Darling trailer was released, Pugh opted to share a teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan's war drama Oppenheimer instead, in which she plays Jean Tatlock.

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The Little Women star and Oscar nominee's initial excitement over the project and subsequent silence has been the topic of hot debate on social media, particularly in July, with one person writing on Twitter: "The way Florence Pugh has yet to post about don't worry darling even though there are two trailers out for it and yet she'll post about every single other project that she's doing right now like what did Olivia Wilde do ????"

Another person tweeted: "i think it's so funny how florence pugh had said NOTHING about don't worry darling and olivia wilde keeps trying to hype her up."

"I need to know what Olivia Wilde did to my baby Florence Pugh on the set of DWD because my girl has been SILENT on movie updates," a third person wrote.

Page Six's July source, however, said of Pugh's silence: "I heard she was already scheduled to post [about Oppenheimer] that day for some specific reason, it had nothing to do with a response to Olivia."

Fans also speculated Pugh's former relationship with Zach Braff, 47, had something to do with the alleged feud – Braff and Sudeikis are friends, and when Sudeikis' show Ted Lasso was nominated for several Emmys in 2021 (and at the ceremony it absolutely cleaned up), she publicly congratulated him and wished him luck, and did the same thing when he won the Best Actor Golden Globe for his role as Ted Lasso.

Pugh was the cover model for Harper's Bazaar's August 2022 'The Icons Issue', within which she did speak about the movie – but instead of mentioning Wilde (normally a lead actor praises their director when there's an in-depth interview about the film), she spoke about her dislike of Don't Worry Darling being reduced to its sex scenes. The film's sex scenes and showing women orgasming on-screen were a large part of Wilde's public discourse promoting the film, and after the film's release, Wilde's comments were seen as controversial by some considering the wider context of the sex scenes, which were taking place in a non-consensual scenario.

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The Midsommar actress also shared a digital poster for Don't Worry Darling on August 12, but her caption was vague and had no mention of the cast, crew or Wilde. Of her six Venice Film Festival social media posts, only one actually referenced the fact that she was there for the movie Don't Worry Darling – and it was the last one shared days after her appearance.

Pugh did, however, tag Wilde in one movie still across multiple photos shared in two posts celebrating the release of Don't Worry Darling in the United States in September, however, her captions made no mention of Wilde, and the behind-the-scenes photos largely focused on the supporting cast – including KiKi Layne, who criticised the movie for cutting a lot of her scenes. In contrast, Wilde's one Instagram post featured herself, Styles and Pugh smiling together behind-the-scenes.

Florence Pugh's limited Don't Worry Darling press outings

Neither Styles nor Pugh officially commented on the alleged feud – and fans were eagerly awaiting to see how the trio behaved around each other on the press tour for Don't Worry Darling, which began in late August with Wilde's interviews and was set to officially kick off with Styles and Pugh at the Venice Film Festival in September.

The film's premiere at the Venice Film Festival, however, didn't seem to actually kick off anything – for Pugh at least, the festival appearance seemed to be her one and only for Don't Worry Darling.

As Wilde's video leaked in late August, TheWrap also published a report alleging Pugh's appearance at the red carpet and press conference would be the only traditional press she'd do for the film, a move that is unusual considering she was the lead actor.

Variety confirmed these reports a few days later, adding Pugh would not be attending the press conference, which she didn't. This meant that Don't Worry Darling's lead star did not speak about the film at its own worldwide premiere.

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It is important to highlight, however, that Pugh was filming Dune 2 in Budapest at the time, and travelled to Venice on the day of the premiere directly from a night shoot, before she reportedly swiftly returned to set.

This is what was cited as a factor in her limited press for Don't Worry Darling and the fact she wasn't at the press conference, as the press conference was in the morning, a few hours before the red carpet and premiere.

Pugh's private flight to Italy from Hungary, however, arrived in the middle of the press conference – and her purple ensemble, pictured above, immediately shot to notoriety online as she strutted throughout Venice, seemingly unbothered with an Aperol Spritz in-hand, as her castmates struggled through an awkward press conference without her.

A myriad of awkward moments at the Venice Film Festival

Don't Worry Darling's cast – sans Pugh – spoke at a press conference about the film on Monday, September 5 (Venice time). With Pugh, they walked the red carpet, and attended a premiere of the film hours after the press conference.

It was, to say the least, illuminating. At the press conference, Wilde artfully dodged a question from a reporter who asked if there was any truth to the feud rumours, saying: "Florence is a force. We are so grateful she's able to make it tonight [for the red carpet]. I'm grateful to her, and to [Dune director Denis Villeneuve] for helping us. I can't say how honoured I am to have her as our lead.

"As for all the endless tabloid gossip out there, the Internet feeds itself. I don't feel the need to contribute; I think it's sufficiently self-nourished."

Another journalist attempted to ask about LaBeouf's allegations he wasn't fired from the film, but the Venice Film Festival moderator stepped in, effectively blocking the question by claiming it had already been answered by Wilde in the question about Pugh.

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On the red carpet, while Pugh and Wilde posed together with other cast members Chris Pine, Nick Kroll and Gemma Chan, as well as Styles, they definitely kept their distance, often separated by Pine, who, as one Twitter user pointed out, spent the red carpet "hyping up" Pugh. Pugh also spent a majority of the red carpet with her grandmother, Pat, though she did give one red carpet interview, within which people think she buried a subtle dig at Wilde.

Per Variety, Pugh and Wilde's noticeable distance from each other, despite being at the same event and being the director and lead actor for Don't Worry Darling, made it appear "almost as if they weren't even in the same film together."

Following the film's premiere at the festival, the audience erupted into cheers, and the cast and crew got a four-minute standing ovation. During the standing ovation, Pugh, who was teary-eyed and sitting several seats away from Wilde in the same row, appeared to turn completely away from Wilde, facing and dancing with co-star Kroll instead. Pugh did look at Wilde once and clap at her, but Wilde spent a lot of that four minutes clapping at Pugh compared to Pugh's acknowledgement of her director.

Pugh actually walked out about three to four minutes into the standing ovation, prompting the rest of the cast to follow (as is protocol). Styles and Kroll also reportedly kissed on the lips during the standing ovation. There was also speculation Styles spat on Pine, later hosed down by Pine's spokesperson, and again rubbished by Wilde on her The Late Show with Stephen Colbert appearance in September.

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Sydney Chandler, Gemma Chan and Florence Pugh

Chris Pine and Florence Pugh

Days later, Pugh finally acknowledged the fact she was at Venice Film Festival for Don't Worry Darling with a cast shot shared to Instagram (Wilde is tagged), but the caption notably thanked the cast and crew, not Wilde. Pine, who notably hyped up Pugh on the red carpet, was the only cast member to get a shoutout from Pugh.

"I'm still taking it all in! Qwoaaar. What a moment this was?" she wrote. "A massive congratulations to everyone standing on that carpet. We premiered in Venice! A huge wonderful win in itself. I'd never been to Venice Film Festival before.. It was mega! The crowds! The cheers! The energy was incredible."

"And to all the cast and crew as well who helped to make this movie, thank you for all of your hard work. We genuinely wouldn't have been there without your talent and we appreciate it hugely," she continued. "I also just can't help but post how bloody cute and hilarious Chris Pine is for being the no.1 photographer, getting down on white pressed trousered knees for angles.. now that's dedication. Love you Chrissy."

Chan commented: "Love you ❤️"

Kroll commented: "❤️❤️❤️"

It is unclear if Wilde has acknowledged the post.

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Rumours of an affair between Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde reignited with former nanny's shock claims

Just when everyone thought the dust had settled, Wilde and Sudeikis' former nanny, who remains unidentified, made shock claims in an interview with the Daily Mail alleging that, among other things (*cough* Wilde's special salad dressing *cough*) Styles and Wilde did have an affair, which Sudeikis discovered by seeing a text on her Apple Watch.

Wilde and Sudeikis issued a rare joint statement denouncing the nanny's "false and scurrilous accusations" about their relationship, and accusing her of harassment.

"As parents, it is incredibly upsetting to learn that a former nanny of our two young children would choose to make such false and scurrilous accusations about us publicly," they wrote in a statement to Access Hollywood.

"Her now 18-month long campaign of harassing us, as well as loved ones, close friends and colleagues, has reached its unfortunate apex. We will continue to focus on raising and protecting our children with the sincere hope that she will now choose to leave our family alone."

Weeks later, the nanny doubled down on her claims, and alleged new information in a sit-down interview with Inside Edition. Wilde and Styles have since split.

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Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine, Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, Florence Pugh and Nick Kroll

'Secret kiss' between Harry Styles and Florence Pugh allegedly kicked off 'feud'

A week after after Wilde and Sudeikis' former nanny's initial claims were aired to the world in October 2022, a source suggested to The Sun that the alleged falling out between Pugh and Wilde actually originated from a secret kiss between Styles and Pugh, which allegedly happened on the film's set weeks before Styles and Wilde began dating.

"Harry and Florence had chemistry from the off, which translated incredibly well on-screen," a source told the outlet. "One night they had a bit of a snog, all very light-hearted and a bit of fun, and that was that."

"It was being gossiped about by a couple of members of production, otherwise no one would have known."

The source said that there was "no cheating or misbehaviour from anyone" as Styles was single at the time and Pugh had just split from actor Zach Braff. When Styles started spending more time with Wilde "sneaking off for coffees, hanging out in one another's trailers, and sharing small, routine intimacies", this apparently upset Pugh.

"It was clear to all they had a real connection," the source said of Styles and Wilde. "When they were pictured holding hands for the first time, Florence wasn't too happy. There was already tension between the two women and this undoubtedly fanned the flames."

Neither Styles, Pugh nor Wilde have commented on these reports.

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Florence Pugh

Florence Pugh shares Halloween photo of friend dressed up as her viral Venice Film Festival photo

Pugh is, by all accounts, the master of the subtle statement.

Pugh and the Don't Worry Darling cast's behaviour was scrutinised beyond belief at the Venice Film Festival, and part of that was from a video shared by Pugh's stylist Rebecca Corbin Murray when the rest of the cast was at the film's official press conference – which Pugh skipped out on.

As Wilde artfully dodged questions about feud rumours between her and her lead actor, Pugh strutted her stuff, in Venice, for the cameras in a matching purple ensemble, with an Aperol Spritz in-hand.

That footage instantly became viral, with many branding Pugh "iconic" for how "unbothered" she seemed amid all the rumours and speculation.

On November 2, 2022, Pugh showed she's in on the joke by sharing a photo of herself and her friend Theo Smith to Instagram, where Pugh, for Halloween, is dressed up as Cruella de Vil, and her friend is dressed up as her iconic Venice ensemble – Aperol Spritz and all.

"Red lips, shit wigs, dogs both human and real, Aperol, Timberlake and sweaty upper lips.. Loved that Halloween," Pugh wrote alongside the image on Instagram.

Fans, to put it mildly, were screaming.

"HE DRESSED UP AS YOU I'M SCREAMING LOVE THAT!! 🤣," one fan commented.

"Not him wearing your iconic Venice look 😂❤️," another said.

A timeline of alleged behind-the-scenes Don't Worry Darling events that have me very worried, darling

  • August 2019: Don't Worry Darling announced.
  • April 2020: Pugh announces she's been cast as the lead. Wilde was originally meant to play Pugh's role as Alice and vice versa, but they swapped roles when Wilde, who is also the director, decided she wanted a younger couple to centre the film.
  • August 16, 2020, as alleged by LaBeouf: Wilde and LaBeouf meet in person in Los Angeles to discuss his exit from the film.
  • August 17, 2020, as alleged by LaBeouf: LaBeouf "officially" quits Don't Worry Darling.
  • August 19, 2020, as alleged by LaBeouf: Wilde sends LaBeouf a video where she asks if they can "figure this out" and alludes to tension between Pugh and LaBeouf.
  • September 2020: Styles is announced as LaBeouf's replacement.
  • October 2020: Principle photography begins.
  • November 4, 2020: Filming halts for two weeks due to COVID-19 outbreak on set, with Pugh, Styles and Pine quarantined.
  • November 2020: Wilde and Sudeikis announce the end of their nine-year relationship.
  • January 2021: Wilde and Styles' relationship seemingly becomes official.
  • February 4, 2021: Wilde tells Variety she has a "strict no a--holes policy" on set, implying LaBeouf was fired per this policy.
  • February 13, 2021: Filming for Don't Worry Darling wraps.
  • December 2021: Wilde denies rumours she had an affair with Styles.
  • April 2022: Wilde's presentation about Don't Worry Darling at CinemaCon is interrupted when she's "ambushed" with custody papers from Sudeikis.
  • July 22, 2022: New trailer for Don't Worry Darling drops, absolute silence from Pugh though she promotes Oppenheimer, while Wilde in comparison shouts Pugh's praises.
  • August 24, 2022: Wilde's cover story with Variety comes out, where she opens up about LaBeouf's alleged firing from the film for the first time.
  • August 26, 2022: TheWrap reports Pugh's press appearances for Don't Worry Darling will be nothing outside of the Venice Film Festival.
  • August 27, 2022: Variety publishes leaked emails and text messages sent in by LaBeouf, with the purpose of disputing the claim he was fired. This same day, the video allegedly sent by Wilde to LaBeouf emerges online, though it is not included in Variety's article.
  • September 5, 2022: The cast of Don't Worry Darling descends upon the Venice Film Festival, where Pugh skips the press conference during which Wilde dodges a question about her and is prevented from addressing LaBeouf's allegations. Wilde and Pugh keep their distance at the red carpet and premiere.
  • September 6, 2022: Texts allegedly exchanged between Pugh and LaBeouf confirming LaBeouf's story leak.
  • September 8, 2022: Pugh finally acknowledges the fact she was at the Venice Film Festival for Don't Worry Darling, though doesn't mention Wilde (the person who made the film happen and cast Pugh) at all.
  • September 8, 2022: Wilde rubbishes claims of an on-set affair with Styles for the second time, and denies the rumour she was so taken with Styles she did not direct the film or the rest of the cast.
  • September 22, 2022: Wilde tells Stephen Colbert that whether LaBeouf was fired or quit is a "question of semantics."
  • September 26, 2022: Don't Worry Darling's crew and studio executives deny rumours of an on-set screaming match between Wilde and Pugh.
  • October 17, 2022: Sudeikis and Wilde's former nanny makes shock claims about the demise of their relationship, which are denied by the former couple.
  • October 26, 2022: Rumours of a secret kiss between Pugh and Styles being the starting point of Wilde and Pugh's alleged falling out emerge.
  • November 2, 2022: Pugh shares a photo of her friend dressed up as her iconic Venice Film Festival viral moment.
  • November 2, 2022: Wilde and Sudeikis' former nanny makes further claims about Wilde's alleged affair with Styles.
  • November 18, 2022: Wilde and Styles break up after two years of dating.
  • January 11, 2023: Wilde shares a cryptic message about love to her Instagram Story.
  • February 15, 2023: Pugh shuts down questions about Don't Worry Darling drama almost three years on.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci3S1UZoCrx/

Regardless of whether the feud is true or not, the production was messy – in addition to LaBeouf's reported firing/quitting/replacement and production shutting down due to COVID-19, the film made headlines in April 2022 when Wilde was served custody papers by Sudeikis while she was making a speech promoting the film on stage, for which Sudeikis has since apologised.

There was speculation about a significant pay disparity between Pugh and Styles – with the singer alleged to have been paid significantly more than his co-star – despite the fact Pugh was the lead star and Styles, although he is the film's leading man, for all intents and purposes, was a side character compared to Pugh's storyline. Wilde previously told Variety that Don't Worry Darling was "[Pugh's] film."

Wilde, however, in that same August Variety interview where she also implied LaBeouf had been fired, disputed the pay disparity rumours, and also spoke heavily about the importance of showing women orgasming on-screen (in reference to a scene in the trailer where Styles performs oral sex on Pugh) – something Pugh's press narrative very much deviated from.

In a Harper's Bazaar profile at the time – the only piece of media in which Pugh officially spoke about the film – Pugh said: "When [the film is] 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."

Don't Worry Darling was released in Australian cinemas on October 6, 2022. It's currently streaming on Google Play, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video.

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Title: Everything to know about Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh's alleged feud
Sourced From: celebrity.nine.com.au/movies/olivia-wilde-florence-pugh-feud-explainer/3d17d296-7059-4a2c-9da8-e3514e7bede2
Published Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2023 00:02:00 GMT

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