The Don’t Worry Darling drama train is still chug-chugging along. This time, staff from the set have slammed reports of an alleged “screaming match” between director Olivia Wilde and star Florence Pugh as just “absurd gossip”.
Now, if you’ve been keeping up with the drama (and there’s a LOT of it so get up to speed here), you’ll know that things behind the scenes are rumoured to have been pretty fkn messy. The latest tea was a bombshell report by Vulture, where a source seemingly confirmed the rumours of beef between Wilde and Pugh.
“Olivia and Harry would just disappear,” the source said.
They then claimed at one point Pugh and Florence had a “screaming match” during filming.
Apparently what followed was top Warner Bros. studio execs like Toby Emmerich having to get involved in a “long negotiation process” to get Pugh to participate in promo for the film “in any way”.
However, a huge *40* staff involved in the production of Don’t Worry Darling have responded directly to Vulture’s report and delivered a spicy statement to Deadline.
“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.
It’s signed by producers including co-writer Katie Silberman, a bunch of crew members and director of photography Matthew Libatique.
“Any allegations about unprofessional behavior on the set of Don’t Worry Darling are completely false,” it continued.
“Olivia is an incredible leader and director who was present with and involved in every aspect of production. She 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.
“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. We’re also thrilled that the movie is in theaters this weekend. We can’t wait for you to see it on the big screen.”
Ooft. Some might write this off as damage control, but the amount of staff who signed the statement is a pretty big deal.
ICYMI, Vulture also reported that Warner Bros. execs aren’t super pleased with the chaos that has been this press tour.
“Olivia is either a mad genius who just figured out a way to make people more aware of the movie in a way that just drives up the box office, or she doesn’t have any self-awareness that she is fucking up her movie,” a different source told the publication.
For its part, Warner Bros. have denied that there’s any beef between it and Wilde.
In a statement, CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy said the studio was “so proud of the work that Olivia Wilde has done”, per E!Online.
It said it was “grateful” for Wilde’s “tireless support… in bringing her vision to life from production through release”.
“Any suggestion of conflict between the studio and Olivia is simply not true.”
Months ago, Page Six reported Pugh wasn’t happy about Wilde dating Mr Harry Styles during production. Since the publication of that article, things have gotten messier and messier.
We had Miss Flo. We had rumours of a salary gap. We had SpitGate. We had the Shia LeBouf drama.
Throughout the drama, Wilde has asserted there’s no beef between her and Florence Pugh.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Wilde popped in a bit of pseudo-feminist rhetoric and lavished Pugh with praise.
“It is very rare that people assume the best from women in power,” she said.
“I think they don’t often give us the benefit of the doubt. Florence did the job I hired her to do, and she did it exquisitely. She blew me away.
“Every day I was in awe of her, and we worked very well together.”
In short, I think we can all agree: this is both the wildest and most persistent celebrity drama in a hot minute. Kris Jenner is probably taking notes.
