Olivia Wilde was awkwardly forced to address rumors of a falling out with Florence Pugh at a live panel at the Venice International Film Festival, Grazia reports.
The actress-turned-director is currently in the Italian city to promote her latest project, Don't Worry Darling - a psychological thriller set in the 1950s that stars Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, and Florence Pugh. It is the latter whose supposed feud with Wilde has caused controversy and dominated headlines in recent weeks.
During a press conference for Don't Worry Darling - of which Pugh was mysteriously not in attendance - a journalist stated that it was a "shame" the movie's lead actress wasn't present, asking Wilde: "Can you just clear the air and address if there's been a falling out there and if so why? Because it's something that people are discussing."
"Florence is a force and we are so grateful that she is able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune. I know as a director how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day so I'm very grateful to her and Denis Villeneuve for helping us – we're really thrilled we'll get to celebrate her work tonight," the director stated rather diplomatically, per the .
She added: "I can't say enough how honored I am to have her as our lead. She's amazing in the film and 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, I think it's sufficiently well nourished."
Despite missing the panel, British native Pugh is expected to walk the red carpet for the movie on Monday (September 5). Variety confirmed that the 26-year-old actress was unfortunately unable to attend the panel as her flight landed after it was expected to commence.
Gossip about a feud between her and Wilde came to a head when a leaked video showed Wilde pleading with actor Shia LaBeouf not to quit Don't Worry Darling (in which he was meant to star), as previously reported. The leaked footage came after the 38-year-old director claimed she had fired LaBeouf from the set of the flick in 2020 for safety reasons.
That announcement in 2020 was certainly timely, given that LaBeouf was receiving negative publicity stemming from accusations of sexual battery and assault from his former girlfriend, FKA Twigs.
Wilde was asked another question about this situation with LaBeouf by The Hollywood Reporter's Alex Ritman, however, the question was shut down by a moderator, Newsweek revealed. This was followed by a few seconds of tense silence, and then awkward laughter from Wilde's rumored beau, Harry Styles.
Several short clips of the panel have made their way to Twitter, where Wilde's appearance has only seemed to raise more questions among social media users about what went on backstage on Don't Worry Darling.
One user posted a 45-second snippet of the panel discussion, writing: "OK SO Olivia Wilde spoke about why Florence Pugh isn't at the press conference but refused to answer any questions about Shia LaBeouf !!!!! There is 100% more tea to be shared #DontWorryDarling #VeniceFilmFestival [sic]."
Rumors of the feud between the two women have persisted, despite Wilde's continued yet arguably overzealous praise for Pugh - even calling her "ferociously talented" in a recent Interview article written by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
