Olivia Wilde shut down a question about Shia LaBeouf and addressed rumors of a feud with her Don’t Worry Darling star, Florence Pugh, during a press conference at the 2022 Venice Film Festival over the weekend. When asked to "clear the air" about both topics, she labeled the stories "endless tabloid gossip."
Amid rumors of the relationship between Wilde and Pough being strained, Pough was absent from the panel but blamed her tardiness on a late flight.
When asked about the alleged drama with Pough, Wilde said: “Florence is a force and we are so grateful she’s 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, I’m grateful to [Dune: Part Two’s director] Denis Villeneuve for helping us, and we’re really thrilled we get to celebrate her work tonight.”
“I can’t say enough how honored I am to have her as our lead,” Wilde continued. “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.”
From there, a writer for the Hollywood Reporter began to ask about LeBeouf, but was interrupted by the press moderator.
“The question has been answered," they said.
“It’s separate,” the journalist replied. “It’s about Shia LaBeouf…”
“I think the question [was] answered when she talked about the internet,” the moderator continued as Wilde nodded in agreement.
LeBeouf was originally slated to star in Don’t Worry Darling, but was eventually replaced with Harry Styles. Wilde has claimed that LaBeouf was fired from the project for having a "combative energy" on set, while LaBeouf says that he quit the project willingly.
Check out Wilde's comments from the press conference below.
[Via]