The plot thickens. Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde‘s stylists appeared to have shared their thoughts on the actresses’ rumored feud.
After the Midsommar star and the Booksmart director reunited on Monday, September 5, at the premiere of their new film, Don’t Worry Darling, during the 79th Venice Film Festival, Kara Welch and Rebecca Corbin-Murray shared seemingly shady posts about Pugh and Wilde’s situation via Instagram. Corbin-Murray, who works with Pugh, posted a carousel of photos of Pugh’s breathtaking red carpet look, which included a sequin-covered Valentino dress and feather-adorned heels, captioning it “Miss Flo.”
Wilde referred to Pugh as “Miss Flo” in a 2020 video via Variety last month. Shia LaBeouf shared the video to defend his exit from the film. LaBeouf was originally cast as Jack, but was replaced by Harry Styles. Wilde said the switch-up was because the Transformers star’s “process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions” as her priority was “creating a safe, trusting environment.” However, LaBeouf said that wasn’t the case.
“You and I both know the reasons for my exit. I quit your film because your actors and I couldn’t find time to rehearse,” the actor wrote in an email to Wilde obtained by Variety. In the video, the Meadowland star referenced Pugh and told LaBeouf she was “heartbroken” and “not ready to give up” on him.
“You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us,” Wilde said. “If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace — and I respect your point of view, I respect hers — but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope? Will you let me know?”
Welch, for her part, shared a cryptic message via her Instagram Story. “There’s always more to the story,” she wrote. Welch dresses Wilde.
The fashion guru’s post came after Wilde addressed her and Pugh’s alleged issues at a Don’t Worry Darling press conference ahead of the premiere on Monday.
When asked about the rumors, Wilde told a reporter: “Florence is a force, and we are so grateful that she’s able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune,” She continued: “I know, as a director, how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day, so I’m very grateful to her, to [Dune director] Denis Villeneuve for helping us. And we’re really thrilled we’ll get to celebrate her work tonight. I can’t say enough how honored I am to have her as our lead. She’s amazing in the film.”
She added, “As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, the internet feeds itself. I don’t feel the need to contribute; I think it’s sufficiently well-nourished.”
Speculation about a possible feud came to a head last month when fans noticed Pugh had rarely discussed Don’t Worry Darling on social media. After the trailer, which showed Pugh’s Alice receiving oral sex from Styles’ Jack, dropped, the Little Women star explained in her August 2022 cover story for Harper’s Bazaar that she didn’t want her work as an actor to be “reduced to your sex scenes.” Wilde, however, stressed to Vogue in December 2021 that she wanted to include the raunchy scenes because she wanted viewers to “realize how rarely they see female hunger, and specifically this type of female pleasure.”
In August, Wilde squashed another rumored reason for her and Pugh not getting along: that the Malevolent star had been paid significantly less than Styles, 28.
“There has been a lot out there that I largely don’t pay attention to,” the New York native said to Variety. “But the absurdity of invented clickbait and subsequent reaction regarding a nonexistent pay disparity between our lead and supporting actors really upset me.” She continued, “I’m a woman who has been in this business for over 20 years, and it’s something that I have fought for myself and others, especially being a director. There is absolutely no validity to those claims.”
While Wilde has attempted to clear the air, a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly that she and Pugh have had problems for some time.
“Florence and Olivia have had several disagreements personally and professionally, that’s why Florence isn’t doing any press for the movie,” the insider said.
