A new report has revealed more details on the Don’t Worry Darling on-set drama
The Vulture article went in-depth regarding tensions on set, particularly between director Olivia Wilde and star Florence Pugh. An anonymous source who reportedly spent “significant time” on the set opened up to the outlet, saying that Florence had “grown fed up with the director’s frequent unexplained absences” as “Olivia and Harry would just disappear.”
Olivia entered into a romance with Don’t Worry Darling leading man Harry Styles during filming.
The source shared that a “breaking point” was when Florence and Olivia were spotted in a “screaming match” on set. The drama was allegedly relayed to the top exec at Warner Bros. who then went into a “long negotiation process” to ensure Florence would participate in the movie’s promos.
Author Chris Lee tweeted more details, though these have also seemingly been deleted. He said on his Twitter thread that lawyers “ripped the guts out of his story. Wish you could read my original draft.” He also said in the thread:
“Florence would give input on how she thought the next scene should be sho when Olivia wasn’t there. She was like, ‘I’m directing this movie more than you are!’
That was yelled at one point and people heard it. That spread all around very quickly.”
Chris also tweeted:
“The DwD crew was extremely pissed when Olivia was photographed with Harry at that wedding in jan 2021 because she frequently gave them ‘lectures’: ‘‘Don’t be stupid. You’re f–king up our movie. Don’t go to parties. Don’t congregate.’ There were so many complaints from the crew saying, ‘How dare she tell us to shelter in place while we’re doing this movie? And yet she goes to a public wedding with a group of people? This is f–king crazy!’ So many people complained.
That’s the turning point. That’s when everyone started hating her.”
After the report came out, a joint statement was released by 40 people who were on the film’s crew, disputing the rumors of on-set drama between Olivia and Florence.
In the joint statement released to People, the crew members said this:
“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. Any allegations about unprofessional behavior on the set of Don’t Worry Darling are completely false.
[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.”
Don’t Worry Darling producer Miri Yoon added:
“Rumors of screaming matches between our director and leading lady on set are completely unfounded. We truly hope you enjoy the movie.”
Warner Bros. executives have likewise spoken out in response to the drama. Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, co-chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Pictures, released a statement to IndieWire. They denied that there was any behind the scenes drama and seemingly responded to the allegation that former exec Toby Emmerich had to serve as “referee” between the two women. They said:
“We are so proud of the work that Olivia Wilde has done making this incredibly beautiful and entertaining film and look forward to collaborating with her again. The studio is very grateful and appreciative of the tireless support by Olivia in bringing her vision to life from production through release. Any suggestion of conflict between the studio and Olivia is simply not true.”
