Olivia Wilde addresses drama surrounding “Don’t Worry Darling”

In an interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Olivia Wilde opened up about much of the drama surrounding her new film “Don’t Worry Darling,” which has been plagued by rumors of feuds between several actors and Wilde herself. . The director and actress addressed the viral “Spitgate” incident between Harry Styles and Chris Pine, and said questions about whether she fired actor Shia LaBeouf from the film, or whether he chose to leave , it was a problem of “semantics”.

LaBeouf was originally set to star in “Don’t Worry Darling,” but Wild August told Variety He fired the actor because “his behavior was not in line with the ethics that I demand in my productions.” LaBeouf then fired back, saying that he left the film due to lack of time to rehearse, and that he exchanged various texts with Wilde and a video that he sent her after he left the film. sent, in which she appears to ask if they would be ready to return. In the video, Wilde also appears to refer to actress Florence Pugh, who plays the wife of LaBeouf’s character, who was originally cast to play before being replaced by Harry Styles.

“You know, I think this might be a little wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re willing to give it a shot with us, with me,” Wilde captioned the video. I said. different types.

On Wednesday, Wilde told his side of the story, telling Colbert that he “tried to mediate the situation between people to try to see if they could work together happily.”

“Once it became clear that this was not a viable working relationship, I was given an ultimatum,” she said. “I chose my actress, which I am very happy about.”

He also said the information LaBeouf provided to Variety was taken out of context.

“At the time, was I worried that we weren’t going to be able to make it work? Yes, did information about it come to light later that made me believe we made the right decision? Yes,” Wilde said. said apparently referring to it. Lawsuit filed by singer FKA twigs against LaBeouf in which she accused the actor of sexual battery and assault.

When Colbert asked directly if he had fired LaBeouf, Wilde replied, “We had to replace Shia. He’s a fantastic actor, but it’s not going to work. When he gave me an ultimatum Dia, so you know, him or Florence, I chose Florence, and it was him feeling like he was going away and I think we’re moving on without him.”

When pressed further, Wilde said the issue of whether he was fired or quit boiled down to a “question of ethics.”

Wilde also addressed the viral “spitgate” incident, in which people on social media believed that a video from the Venice Film Festival showed Styles spitting on a pine as the former sat for a screening of the film. .

Wilde, who was sitting next to Pine, told Colbert that Styles didn’t “spit” on Pine.

“I think it’s a perfect example of, like, people will look for drama wherever they can,” he said. “Harry didn’t actually spit on Chris.”

Finally, Wilde responded to rumors that she and Pugh had a rocky relationship, telling Colbert that she had “nothing but respect for Florence’s talent. She’s fantastic.”

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” airs on CBS. Both CBS and CBS News are divisions of Paramount.