Olivia Wilde Doubles Down On Claims She Fired Shia LaBeouf

The psychological thriller is Olivia Wilde’s second venture into directing, and she initially cast Florence Pugh and Shia LaBeouf as the movie’s leads. However, Shia mysteriously left the project during pre-production, and was replaced with Harry Styles.

Olivia has repeatedly suggested that she fired the actor due to tensions between him and Florence. In February, she said that she has a strict “no-assholes policy” on her movie sets, and she honed in on this during an interview with Variety last month.

Discussing Shia’s exit from the movie, Olivia said that he’d had a “combative energy” and she made the decision to let him go in order to “protect” Florence and make her feel “safe.”

Referencing Florence directly, she added: “For our film, what we really needed was an energy that was incredibly supportive. Particularly with a movie like this, I knew that I was going to be asking Florence to be in very vulnerable situations, and my priority was making her feel safe and making her feel supported.”

But just days later, Shia rebuked this narrative when he sent the publication a series of emails, text messages, and even a video of Olivia that painted a very different picture.

In a text conversation between Shia and Olivia in August 2020, it was suggested that they had met in person to discuss his exit from the project because he was concerned that he didn’t have enough time to rehearse.

After the meeting, Olivia texted him: “Thanks for letting me in on your thought process. I know that isn’t fun. Doesn’t feel good to say no to someone, and I respect your honesty. I’m honored you were willing to go there with me, for me to tell a story with you. I’m gutted because it could have been something special. I want to make clear how much it means to me that you trust me. That’s a gift I’ll take with me.”

Shia told Variety that he “officially” quit Don’t Worry Darling the next day, which was Aug. 17, 2020. Two days later, he received a video from Olivia begging him to reconsider.

The video later leaked online, and Olivia can be seen telling the actor: “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.”

Following Olivia’s comments in her Variety interview, Shia had also emailed her to privately call out what she’d said about him. When she didn’t reply, he made these public and he can be seen telling the director that he is “a little confused about the narrative” that he was “fired.”

“You and I both know the reasons for my exit,” the email goes on. “I quit your film because your actors & I couldn’t find time to rehearse. I have included as a reminder the screenshots of our text exchange on that day, and my text to Tobey.”

Olivia did not publicly respond to the shocking exposé, and when a journalist tried to ask her about it at Don’t Worry Darling’s press conference at Venice Film Festival on Monday, they were awkwardly shut down by the moderator.

The article reads: “During preproduction, Wilde tells me in London, Pugh told her that she was uncomfortable with LaBeouf’s behavior. Wilde says she called LaBeouf herself and fired him.”

“My responsibility was towards her. I’m like a mother wolf. Making the call was tricky, but in a way he understood,” Olivia told the publication. “I don’t think it would’ve been a process he enjoyed. He comes at his work with an intensity that can be combative. It wasn’t the ethos that I demand in my productions. I want him to get well and to evolve because I think it’s a great loss to the film industry when someone that talented is unable to work.”

“This issue is so much more nuanced than can be explained in private texts released out of context,” she insisted. “All I’ll say is he was replaced, and there was no going forward with him. I wish him the best in his recovery.”

However, this is not reflected in the texts, emails, and videos that Shia provided.

Elsewhere in her Vanity Fair interview, Olivia branded speculation that there is a rift between her and Florence “baseless gossip.”

In recent weeks, the rumor has been fueled by telltale interviews from Florence, as well as her incredibly pointed social media activity. She has publicly shared her disapproval at the way that Don’t Worry Darling is being marketed, which is objectively at odds with Olivia’s point of view.

After the video of Olivia referring to her leading lady as “Miss Flo” leaked online, it was revealed that Florence’s only press commitment for the film would be attending its Venice premiere on Monday.

During the press conference earlier in the day, Olivia suggested that Florence was unable to attend because she couldn’t get away from her filming commitments in Budapest in time.

However, this was almost instantly debunked when Florence was filmed walking around Venice with an Aperol Spritz in hand while the press conference was still underway.

Before she made her red carpet debut at the premiere, Florence’s stylist shared some behind-the-scenes photos where she referenced Olivia’s infamous jibe by captioning her post, which was liked by Florence, “Miss Flo.”

Once on the carpet, Florence enthusiastically greeted every one of her costars apart from Olivia, and Olivia’s boyfriend, Harry. In fact, the supporting cast were treated like human buffers during the awkward photocalls, standing between Olivia, Harry, and Florence throughout.

In her only press interview, Florence appeared to reference her behind-the-scenes discomfort during Don’t Worry Darling, when she said: “I think it’s very, very inspiring to see a woman push back and say ‘no’ and question everything, and it’s very exciting to see a woman do that [on] and off camera. I’m so lucky that I get to do that, especially in this role.”

Despite this, Olivia insisted that there is no validity to the rift claims, telling Vanity Fair: “Florence’s performance in this film is astounding. It’s just baffling to me that the media would rather focus on baseless rumors and gossip, thereby overshadowing her profound talent. She deserves more than that. As does the movie, and everyone who worked so hard on it.”

“She fulfilled every single expectation I had of her. That’s all that matters to me,” she added.