“Don’t Worry Darling” is the title of the highly anticipated thriller/horror film starring Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, directed by Olivia Wilde. However, audiences apparently should be worried because half of the hype surrounding the movie came from the drama that occurred off-set, not the film itself. Rumors continue to fly since the first allegations broke that Olivia Wilde was supposedly not fulfilling her duties as a director. If you’re confused about why Florence Pugh isn’t doing press for the movie, or how Jason Sudeikis fits into all of this, here is a complete timeline of all the drama:
April 2020: The leads are announced
In April 2020, it was announced that Florence Pugh and Shia LaBeouf were cast alongside each other as the starring roles in the film. Florence posted on Instagram celebrating the news and singing the praises of Olivia Wilde in her caption. This casting announcement sparked drama in and of itself, due to the abuse allegations that had been surrounding LaBeouf. He has recently released a statement that he “hurt a lot of people” in the wake of musical icon FKA Twigs suing him for said abuse.
Sept. 11, 2020: Leading man, Harry Styles
Deadline reported that LaBeouf had to leave "DWD" due to a scheduling issue, which later ended up not being true. It was soon announced that Harry Styles would be his replacement. This obviously set Twitter ablaze, as many people believed that Styles would not be able to hold a candle to Shia’s acting abilities.
Christmas Eve, 2020: Variety reports that Shia LaBeouf was actually fired
Variety released an article detailing the downfall of LaBeouf’s career after FKA Twig’s lawsuit against him was filed. This included the first report that he was in fact fired from “DWD,” due to bad behavior both on and off set. Many people praised Olivia Wilde after this news broke, citing the fact that she didn’t tolerate the supposed “bad behavior” from LaBeouf.
Jan. 5, 2021: Relationship rumors
A photo of Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles holding hands at a wedding together was released. Multiple sources reported to PEOPLE that the two had “obvious chemistry on set.” To add fuel to the firestorm that occurred after this picture came out, Wilde had just recently split with Jason Sudeikis, so people started referring to Styles as a “rebound.” The pair also came under fire due to the fact that were attending a wedding while the COVID-19 pandemic was ravaging California.
December 2021: Olivia Wilde’s Vogue interview
In an interview with Vogue, Wilde discussed how important the sex scenes in the movie were to her. She said that she believed there wasn’t any good sex on screen anymore, and her goal was to change that by depicting female pleasure on-screen within a heterosexual relationship. Florence Pugh later made comments that went against this perspective from Wilde.
April 27, 2022: Custody papers?
While she was promoting “DWD” at CinemaCon, Wilde was served custody papers. She handled the incident with grace, peeking into the envelope and then continuing on with her presentation. She has two children with her ex, Sudeikis, and many people believed that Sudeikis was attempting to purposely humiliate her.
July 21, 2022: Olivia Wilde praises Florence Pugh
This may seem pointless to include in the timeline, but this post has been referenced many times recently. With the supposed tensions building between Pugh and Wilde, people have been looking back on the times when they actively praised each other on social media and wondering how much of that was actually true. Pugh did not acknowledge this post from Wilde in a comment, repost on her story or anything.
July 21, 2022: The second trailer for “Don’t Worry Darling” drops
News had been released that a second trailer for the movie would be dropping, and on the day that it dropped, Florence Pugh did not post about it at all. People had already been noticing that Pugh had been posting a lot more about other projects that she had been involved in compared to "DWD", and her lack of acknowledgment for the second trailer solidified these circulating rumors.
Aug. 16, 2022: Florence Pugh graces the cover of Harper’s Bazaar
Florence Pugh discussed stardom, cooking and her role in “Don’t Worry Darling” in her interview with Harper’s Bazaar. She also said that she didn’t like that the movie was being “reduced down to the sex scenes.” She believed that the movie was a lot bigger than just watching “the most famous man in the world go down on someone.” This was viewed as an indirect attack on Olivia Wilde due to Wilde’s previous comments on the sex in the movie. One of Pugh’s costars, Gemma Chan, reposted the cover on her Instagram story. Wilde also reposted the cover on her story, and Pugh only posted Chan’s post on her own story. This really fueled the rumors that Pugh and Wilde had a large on-set feud.
Aug. 24, 2022: Olivia Wilde is featured on the cover of Variety
Variety did a profile on Olivia Wilde with the words “She’s So Golden” featured on the cover. (a nod to the hit Harry Styles song “Golden”) She once again made comments about how the sex in the movie was integral to the plot, which continued to lead people to believe that she and Pugh were not on good terms.
Aug. 24, 2022: Olivia Wilde makes comments on Jason Sudeikis
In the same Variety profile, Olivia Wilde described her being served custody papers onstage at CinemaCon “vicious” and said there was a reason she left her relationship with Jason Sudeikis. However, people typically do not have control over where and when custody papers are served, so many are skeptical about whether or not Sudeikis was intending to cause drama.
Aug. 26, 2022: Shia LaBeouf says he was not fired
Variety dropped a bombshell report after obtaining email messages between Wilde and LaBeouf that showed LaBeouf saying he was not actually fired. LaBeouf claims that he quit due to a lack of rehearsal time, and that he was disappointed to see Wilde purporting the narrative that she fired him. He also included a video of Wilde where she is asking him to consider returning to the project.
Aug. 28, 2022: Limited press
Two days ago, it was revealed that Florence Pugh would be doing limited press for the movie. Reportedly, this is due to filming conflicts with “Dune 2,” another project she is working on. However, many people are speculating that it is because she is allegedly “uncomfortable” with the nature of Wilde and Styles’ relationship.
The drama surrounding “Don’t Worry Darling” is giving the film quite a lot of attention, whether or not its in the way the actors wanted it to happen. It seems likely that more drama will continue to surround the film, as the actors have yet to even clear up any rumors about the potential feud.
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