Shia LaBeouf had already planned to come out of hiding late last week. He gave an interview about how he has converted to Catholicism, he’s speaking about his sobriety (he’s been sober/dry for the better part two years), he credits FKA Twigs’ lawsuit as a wakeup call to get help and he claims to be committed to making things right with all of the people he’s wronged. You can choose to believe what you want of all of that – I find it all very convenient and manipulative, but I hope for the sake of his infant daughter that he’s no longer the abusive monster FKA Twigs described.
So all of that was part of Shia’s planned redemption arc. Then Olivia Wilde addressed the fact that Shia left/was fired from Don’t Worry Darling just before the production began. Olivia told Variety that she fired Shia because “his process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions” and that he requires “a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances.” She said, repeatedly, that it was her responsibility to “protect” Florence and support her, so that’s why Olivia fired Shia. Except Olivia Wilde was lying her ass off. You can believe what you want about Shia’s redemption or his new manipulation, but honey, that man came with receipts. Shia provided those receipts to Variety, and he also provided them with a copy of an email he sent to Olivia right after her Variety cover dropped.
Shia LaBeouf has come forward to dispute the assertion that he was fired from “Don’t Worry Darling” by director Olivia Wilde just as production was starting in 2020. LaBeouf asserts that he chose to leave the production because he didn’t feel the actors were given adequate time to rehearse. In the Aug. 24 cover story with Variety, Wilde opened up for the first time about LaBeouf’s departure from her film.
LaBeouf’s representatives declined Variety‘s request for comment on the matter when contacted prior to the story’s publication. But in email messages sent to Variety on Thursday, LaBeouf denied he was fired, instead claiming he “quit the film due to lack of rehearsal time” on Aug. 17, 2020. The actor forwarded two emails he claims to have sent to Wilde on Wednesday and Thursday after the Variety cover story was published. In the emails, LaBeouf wrote, “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.”
LaBeouf sent Variety screenshots of text messages he sent to Wilde in August 2020, where he told Wilde he’d have to back out of “Don’t Worry Darling.” According to the texts, LaBeouf and Wilde met in person in Los Angeles to discuss his exit from the film on Aug. 16, 2020. Later that night, Wilde texted him, “Thanks for letting me in on your thought process. I know that isn’t fun. Doesn’t feel good to say no to someone, and I respect your honesty. I’m honored you were willing to go there with me, for me to tell a story with you. I’m gutted because it could have been something special. I want to make clear how much it means to me that you trust me. That’s a gift I’ll take with me.”
Variety has learned that the texts were sent before the production learned what Shia’s immersive method entailed. LaBeouf claims he “officially” quit “Don’t Worry Darling” the next day on Aug. 17, 2020, according to the email he sent to Wilde on Thursday morning.
In his email to Variety, he included a video that Wilde allegedly sent him on Aug. 19, 2020, two days after he claimed he quit. In the video, Wilde is driving a car and says she is “not ready to give up on this yet.” She also alludes to tension between LaBeouf and Florence Pugh, who stars in the film as Alice, the wife of LaBeouf and Styles’ character Jack.
“I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and I, too, am heartbroken and I want to figure this out,” she says in the video. “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. 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?”
In another message sent at an unspecified time between Aug. 16 and Aug. 20, Wilde texted LaBeouf, “You don’t have to be in my movies but don’t ever doubt me. We pinky promised. That means something in my house.”
You can read Shia’s full email in all of its passive aggressive glory over at Variety – I will say again, I have no doubt that Shia is still a piece of sh-t, and his woe-is-me tone combined with his passive-aggression leaves me cold. But again, he kept the receipts and they prove his side of things. In this narrow issue, Shia has credibility and he outed Olivia as a complete f–king liar. It was an ongoing conversation for a week between Olivia and Shia about rehearsing and his method and I believe it was clear to everyone that Shia was not a good fit. But the video message Olivia sent him after he quit is… shocking. The reference to “Miss Flo” needing a “wake-up call” and the reference to the idea that Shia and Florence Pugh had already fallen out? And Olivia suggesting that Florence isn’t really “committed”? Oh, NO. Worry, Darling. And for Olivia to f–king lie so blatantly to a trade paper? Wow.
she wanted florence to make peace with an abuser you cannot make this up pic.twitter.com/T51dAYcElD
— kay (@harrymotif) August 26, 2022
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, cover courtesy of Variety.
-
- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, BRAZIL, CANADA ** London, UNITED KINGDOM – Shia LaBeouf and other celebrities attend “The Peanut Butter Falcon” UK Premiere during 63rd BFI London Film Festival at the Embankment Gardens Cinema in London, England. Pictured: Shia LaBeouf BACKGRID USA 3 OCTOBER 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, BRAZIL, CANADA ** London, UNITED KINGDOM – Shia LaBeouf attends ‘Honey Boy’ Film Screening, BFI London Film Festival, Vue Leicester Square, London. United Kingdom Pictured: Shia LaBeouf BACKGRID USA 6 OCTOBER 2019 BYLINE MUST READ: Scott Garfitt / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Los Angeles, CA – Shia LaBeouf out for his morning run as ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs sues him for sexual assault. Pictured: Shia LaBeouf BACKGRID USA 12 DECEMBER 2020 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Hollywood, CA – Olivia Wilde turning heads at the Gucci Fashion Show. Pictured: Olivia Wilde BACKGRID USA 2 NOVEMBER 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: PeBu / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Los Angeles, CA – Olivia Wilde at the tenth annual Art+Film Gala presented by Gucci at the LACMA Art Gallery in Los Angeles. Pictured: Olivia Wilde BACKGRID USA 7 NOVEMBER 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: PeBu / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Olivia Wilde is a huge liar. Shia is still a huge scum.
Right. I’m not sure how converting to Catholicism is super positive. Did he join Mel Gibson’s church? Because they count themselves as the only true Catholics, and with Shias issues it would be appealing.
Honestly, I’ve known several people who went from addiction straight into using church as their new life structure (there every time it was open, volunteering everywhere) and it helped them keep sobriety, but it basically replaced substance abuse with whatever rhetoric they hear at church. I don’t know if I’m explaining well, but addictive personalities are usually drawn to extremes, and it’s just as easy to be a religious a hole as it is to be an addicted a hole.
+1 Smile, agree that both are icky.
I also agree with you, Lucy, about addictive personalities and religion replacing a substance/vice. Healthier in many ways, esp physically, but not always a healthy decision for their lives, just a replacement for obsession.
I, too, was surprised to learn he converted to Catholicism of all religions… I was raised in that church until I was a young teen, when I flat-out refused to participate any longer as a non-believer. I’m still extremely grateful that after I turned away from it, my mom did as well, realizing she was only “going through the motions” because that’s how she was raised, and it informed how she started to raise me and my siblings.
Religion is not the answer to our problems.
So true. Ugh. So often their recovery becomes an obsession with preventing progress for other people. In person and virtually. Shia could easily go down that route.
Brad Pitt is Buddhist now. Seems the religion is part of the public redemption plan of abusers & aggressors in Hollywood
I’m not surprised whatsoever he joined Catholicism. He is a known, repeated, ADMITTED abuser who feels entitled to use coercive control on women. The Catholic Church is ALL ABOUT using coercive control and abuse on women while also blaming them for all the evils of the world, starting from Adam and Eve. He can keep his same abusive mindset, while receiving validation on controlling and blaming women from a bunch of religious people like fellow abuser Mel Gibson.
I think Olivia Wilde has a massive ego pb, but I don’t like her since her Dr. House days, I don’t understand all the fuzz about her.
It’s clear Olivia is a fan of revisionist history.
It kills me that women are finally getting a foot in the door with directing in Hollywood, and they turn out just to be just as gross and inappropriate at work as the men we’re trying to kick to the curb. It’s
See: Olivia Wilde, Sam Taylor-Johnson
@ Saba, yes. Wilde seems to take that road when it suits her. Though I am not a fan of SL, I am grateful that he posted this tidbit of receipts in regards to his exit of DWD.
Wilde has lost any credibility she had and the only person that comes out looking like the mature adult in this entire scenario is Florence, “Miss Flo”, such a condescending bitch Wilde is. In addition, Florence doesn’t care who Wilde is f-ing, she solely wanted an atmosphere of complete professionalism on set for her and all cast/crew members and Wilde blatantly failed at that.
Wilde has no one blame but herself. This also opens up to the revisionist history of her relationship with Sudeikis v Styles as well.
Though regarding female directors, there have already been a number of successful directors, ie Coppola, Ephron, Marshall, Bigelow and Campion just to name a few.
Olivia Wilde was disappointingly Hollywood in that video. However, Shia has for a long time now behaved way WAY worse. There are no winners here. Unless you count Styles for being spared.
Yeah, holy crap this is messy AF. Take Shia being Shia out of it, talking badly about any of your collaborators in Hollywood is noted. (Doing it twice in one movie is a major foul up.) Making up this entire story to look better and to kick the unpopular guy is noted. Talking so loosely about other co-workers of high profile stature via documentable mediums is nearly catastrophic to continuing to get the best quality people to work with you. This is just so indiscreet.
.
The weird part is there was no reason to say anything other than “we couldn’t find the rehearsal time to make it work” other than for Olivia woke points. She fumbled this in such ham-fisted manner for no reason.
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! “Miss Flo” hasn’t been doing the usual work on this film that she usually does, there’s a whole break down of all the things that signal something is wrong on buzzfeed. I fully believe she is also milking and lying about her ex and how he is trying to damage the kids with his divorce tactics. She’s known for going scorched earth to the press on her exes. I wish everyone would put the receipts out there so we can stop pretending this woman is a feminist and a victim.
This whole production is messy as fuck and is doing the opposite of making me want to see it.
Why did she cast him in the first place? We’ve known for years that he is a garbage person.
Yes, you don’t get to act like you took the high road when you are in fact part of the problem. Shia has a well-known, abusive and problematic past, and anyone hiring him implicitly supports his behavior. Shame on her for subjecting her cast and crew to him, honestly. And he is liability, so it’s a bad business decision, as well. Right now, I am not sure she is a great director.
Styles was the first choice for the role but they couldn’t make the schedule work. The studio was the one who pushed for Shia as the backup option.
The whole “Harry was the first choice for the role” thing came from Olivia and I don’t believe that now, nor did I ever. She originally cast herself in the lead role, according to her (see the Variety article) so she must have had someone else in mind. Given that she was doing events talking about Honey Boy at the beginning of 2020, it is likely Shia that was the first choice. There’s no source for the idea that the studio pushed Shia on her. She’s known Shia for years. She lies a bunch so there’s no reason to take her word that Harry was the first choice, he would not have been on anyone’s radar for this in 2019.
Considering she was practically begging Shia to reconsider, I seriously doubt anyone “forced” her to cast him. She was also going above and beyond to retain him, as well. If I was being manipulated by a corporation to cast someone, I would not be begging him to return. In fact, I would be delighted he chose to leave on his own accord, hahaha.
Given that Styles was her first choice for the male lead (even though he isn’t the strongest actor), and she wanted originally to be the female lead herself, I kind of wonder whether the casting of this movie was always Wilde’s attempt to get Harry Styles into her bed.
This is my question as well. Which studio is she working with? That Florence would have a problem with him can be seen from miles away, and to have Olivia not only hire him but then talk like this after Florence has expressed concerns. Where is that coming from? Olivia? Higher up?
Shia was her first choice. That rings true now, especially with the video she sent him. Sparks flew when she hired Styles.
Shia is an asshole, but he can act, IMHO. A lot of famous people in Hollywood have a background of poverty and abuse. Most of the big success stories are of NYU/The New School/Yalies, like Streep and Viola Davis, or the abused, like Demi Moore and Shia. I think that Wilde wanted the dangerous thing he brings in her film, and Harry Styles sex wasn’t in the cards until he replaced LeBoeuf.
Florence’s thoughts didn’t appear to matter once she was locked in the contract. I’d be angry, too, if my boss treated me like a moron.
Now it makes sense why Olivia is kissing Florence’s butt hole in the media.
Olivia lacks self awareness. I had high hopes for her, but she is just another entitled white woman who thinks her every move is justified and above reproach. Weirdo.
I was looking forward to seeing Florence Pugh and Chris Pine in this, so this is becoming frustrating. I really think I’m going to have to skip it now.
It’s a mess and it seems as though it is a mess of Olivia Wilde’s making. She just can’t stop talking and has dug herself into a few holes. If she just said it didn’t work out with Shia and so they hired Harry that would be that, but she referenced her “no assholes policy” numerous times over the last few years in regards to this specific situation. I thought the original trailer looked compelling and I love Florence Pough, but it seems like this was a mess from the beginning and the end product isn’t very good. If it was an amazing film Florence would do more and promote it just because it could help her career. The fact that she has washed her hands of it means it must be pretty terrible on top of being a nightmare production.
Shia can F-off with his redemption arc. Between him, Pitt, Depp and now Win Butler from Arcade Fire, I am over all the men.
Sounds like Olivia likes to revises history to fit her own narrative where she’s always the righteous victor. We’ve seen this time and time again. Hmmmmm.
I’ve seen her behavior before. I have a friend who will create false narratives framing herself as victim and repeat them so often, she actually believes them. As in, she doesn’t think she’s lying – which is why OW lied so blatantly despite the texts and video. Note: I am currently quietly quitting said friend for my own mental health lol. I’m sure the armchair psychologists could give me a diagnosis, I just know it’s exhausting.
@nisa, my sister, one year younger, was like that growing up. Really crazy shit. We all witnessed something she did and she would swear on her soul 30m later a narrative that definitively happened did not happen. But she truly believed it happened the way she said. It did not. This was a regular thing. Later, she turned to religion and let me know that I was going to hell for believing in evolution. Told me I was a devil worshipper for reading Harry Potter. She has since toned down and reads and loves Harry Potter while I am now done with JK. She also conveniently has a bad memory and doesn’t remember our childhood or teenage years. Bless her heart.
@ThatsNotOkay, it throws a whole lot of doubt on her “there’s a reason I left that relationship” shade towards Sudekis.
What happened with Win Butler?! Oh noooooo.
Those texts are so cringey and unprofessionnal, OMG.
When you make Shia of all people look good, it’s way past time to worry, darling.
Such an embarrassing scandal for her. What must Harry thing of his beloved now?
Chances are, he’s more worried about how this reflects on him / the upcoming press tour. He’s very, very careful about his image.
Also making news on Friday was Styles adding a bunch more dates to his tour, which already this year /early 2023 was taking him to LatAm and Australia. These new dates take him all the way through to end of July 2023 and all over Europe.
I mean he has to feel lied to as well. So, my guess is you’ll see her less and less at his US shows, and after the film is finally released, his non-stop tour schedule will be cited as the reason for a breakup.
I can also see the spin where Wilde will say she needs to be a mother first and had to give up the relationship.
Yeah! Also the way she speaks and writes in public is cringe too. “I believe in restorative justice”, “[he was] not conducive to the ethos I demand in my productions”.
She’s a B list actress making a B list movie, ffs, not a college sophomore from a small liberal arts school trying hard to sound educated.
She is so pretentious it’s embarrassing.
It makes me so angry that Olivia paraded herself as women supporting and big protector of Florence Pugh when she actually threw her under the bus with her petty “Miss Flo” and begged Shia to reconsider his decision.
She’s an asshole and now this whole thing will help Shia with his redemption tour when he deserves no redemption and doesn’t actually want it. He just wants his career back and Olivia’s lies will help him.
I love everything about this post.
Yes to all of this. If the video is to be believed(and again we are seeing some very specific pieces of evidence Shia and his team are choosing to share), Shia has been sitting on this evidence for more than a year while OW leaked nonsense about her “no a**holes” policy(as part of her endless self-promotion). There is a reason he is responding now when he too has a film at Venice.
Yeah, Shia waited for the right moment that would benefit him the most. Now some people will think that if Wilde lied about him, so what else is a lie? And he seems remorseful (which I’m not buying for one second), so maybe we should give him a chance? Wilde did him a huge solid with her lies. It’s so infuriating!
I think he didn’t bring it up until Olivia started trying to cultivate good will by saying she let him go from the project because he had bad energy.
Conservative Catholic Twitter was utterly taken in by Shia’s conversion narrative–brought to this shift by Mel Gibson! I mean . . . & now FKA Twigs will be doubted by more people in the public, I’m afraid. I hope she prevails because she was dehumanized by SL. Him saying that FKA was a wakeup call may be an opening for a settlement?
Ms. Flo is what some women call their periods. Wilde is not a nice person (but do *nice* women become directors?)
I’m sure Jason S is like: Now y’all see what I’ve been dealing with? This level of self own is riveting. It’s as if her whole life she’s lied and treated other humans very poorly.
And I don’t care that Shia was strategic when he released the video and finally made a comment to a trade paper. I’m glad he did. Just like there’s no perfect victim, there’s no perfect way of delivering, explaining the truth. Because this type of manipulation and coercion is not clean cut.
This exonerates (sorry can’t think of another word) Florence Pugh. Those interested in the movie now understand Pugh’s behavior regarding promoting the film. Wilde clearly mistreated her during pre-production and we can only imagine what it was like on set during production.
This does little for Shia as I see more people qualifying these receipts with his history of *on set* abusive behavior. Shia and his PR team want us to believe that his abusive behavior was limited to romantic relationships, but it was not. He didn’t hurt just “hurt people”, he assaulted colleagues. The public does not need a Shia Labeuf redemption tour, just put him in a movie with a wide release and people will go see it. The bar is on the ocean floor for men who abuse women.
Absolutely. He must have kept that video of Wilde asking him to come back for exactly this reason, right? If he really quit over “lack of rehearsal time” why keep a video of the director asking you to return? And keep it for more than a year?
And now people will be talking about how he was wronged and celebrating his “clapback” rather than his latest upcoming court case. This is not to excuse Wilde, btw: I can’t get over the condescending way in which she refers to her star as “Miss Flo”. There’s obviously more to this story.
I can’t believe she was so stupid as to say all of that on a video call. Haven’t we all learned during the pandemic that we should wear pants and watch what we say on Zoom calls, during the pandemic? This is next level stupid, on OW’s part.
I don’t care for or about Shia and he’s proven to have a bad reputation for many good reasons. However, I don’t think we should always ascribe nefarious purposes to innocuous things. I delete *NOTHING* from my phone. I’ve got videos, voice notes, charts and messages from previous phones that carried over when I switched phones. I think his timing in releasing the video was 100% self-serving (tho I can’t genuinely blame him for depending himself in this narrow context) but I don’t think his still having the video says something terrible about him by itself.
I really suspect that, while she claims to be so up with supporting women, she actually did nothing to make that set better for Florence. My theory on this whole thing is that there are a lot of graphic sex scenes (she’s been very open about that being a goal in this movie) but I don’t think she was very respectful of Florence’s comfort while filming. I’m wondering if the intimacy coordinator was allowed to be fully utilized. I suspect that Olivia pushed her and that the pushing started during the rehearsal phase, which is why Shia is saying they didn’t get rehearsal time- I’m willing to bet that he made Florence so uncomfortable during rehearsals and Olivia didn’t do a damned thing to stand by her.
I think you’re right. Shia is notorious for being wayyyyy too *method* and has gotten out of control on some scenes. He beat Tom Hardy so badly during a fight scene one of the actresses stormed off the set. He went without showering for weeks at a stretch to play a particularly scummy role. He’d drink himself into a rage to play an alcoholic. God knows what he would have pulled on Florence as a *method* actor. Add to it the fact that he has herpes, and deliberately gave it to FKA Twigs, well I wouldn’t want to do any sex scenes with him.
I have similar thoughts, though I have a theory that the context of the sex scenes “had to be cut down” on the editing process, which probably prompted Florence to compain about the trailer and how the movie was reduced to those scenes.
You would think that a female director would respect her leading actress a bit more.
As for Shia, didn’t he want to have real sex in Nymphomaniac? Maybe he tried something similar here?
The woman made Shia looks good, which means she has some issues.
I like to imagine his pr team sending her flowers and cookies, and champagne right now.
100%, well said.
The way she speaks, my god. I can’t decide if she’s a sociopathic narcissist or just a douche.
Same!
OW has a narcissist’s stare.
Douche at the very least. I mean she recorded herself like she was making a TikTok video and sent it. Who does that? I still can’t get over the fact that she recorded and sent it AND lied about herself knowing it existed! Even if there is some potential context she can bring up to justify her action then (eg pressure from studio to get him to stay) it still does not absolve her from telling a whole different narrative now. She had people rooting for her. Why lie?? I guess she’s just that far up her own ass she thought she wouldn’t be called on it. Or she’s truly a narcissist. Damn.
Frankly, there is a lot about her that can reek of performative bs. Even the start of video, “just came from riding my horse, sorry I’m so sweaty” feels a lot like how she fronts in the start of the Variety interview where she walks into a 5-star London hotel having just come from a pottery class, with dried clay on her. And she’s like: so sorry I look like this, oh my gosh people are looking at me like she doesn’t belong here. *rolls eyes*
The thing about people like that, they lie and spin narratives equally, in both big and small ways.
I was hoping someone would mention the pottery class when that first came out. Why not skip pottery class that day? Or do it later? Or leave enough time between the class and the interview to clean up? Or not have tea at fucking Claridge’s for the interview? Because she wanted to be performatively casual and seem like she was unbothered by what people might think, with the underlying understanding that her looks are letting her get away with it. It was almost a parody. It kind of was a parody.
Exactly! Filming herself *while driving* is absolutely unhinged behavior. The horse mention, the pottery class, all performative BS used to craft an image of herself that she thinks both the public at large and the individuals directly involved (in this case, the recipient of the video and the interviewer) are too stupid to see through. She expects everyone to be awed by her and seems to really be thrown for a loop when they’re not, hence her not being able to shut the f up and be a professional – she *has* to have everyone on her side and as a result just keeps digging herself a bigger hole.
No actual horse person has ever apologized for rolling in sweaty and filthy after riding. We go places that way all the time, we just roll with it.
Total try-hard move.
She pings my narcissist radar big time.
Why not both?
@FC – yes on the way she speaks! This is what has bugged me about Olivia. It comes across in her print interviews as well. For one, it’s what I’ve long suspected (and now basically confirmed) to be a performative feminism. I have no doubt she thinks she’s a feminist. But her actions are clearly the opposite. And her usage of words…it’s like the Friends episode when Joey discovers a thesaurus and his words, while I guess technically correct, lose meaning and make little sense because he’s trying to sound smart. I actually think Olivia is intelligent, but there’s something strained and forced behind her word choice. I’m reticent to call someone a narcissist because I’m not their therapist. But her words, manner of speaking, and behavior seem narcissistic.
I remember listening to her interview on the Keep It podcast after Booksmart (a film I loved) came out. I noticed this about her back then but I hoped it was just a one-off.
I’d bet money Florence never gave a fuck about who Olivia was fucking. There were issues between the two women before filming even began, Florence lost trust in Olivia for a variety of reasons (including the Shia thing) and it was a strained production. Regarding Harry, the part I could see someone in Florence’s position caring about would be related to overall trust in the director. This “feminist” director wanted to hire someone you were uncomfortable with (Shia), someone you’d have to simulate a lot of sex scenes with. Then you have to still do these sex scenes with the replacement (Harry) and you learn that the director, who you already don’t trust, is sleeping with this guy. In normal circumstances you wouldn’t care that this actor is sleeping with the director (happens all the time I’d bet) but this director already broke your trust. God, what a mess of Olivia’s creation.
I’m going with narcissist. Olivia has no idea how she appears to others. She can only see her point of view. That’s why she can outright lie and make up this feminist narrative which has no basis in truth.
She also has no PR game at all. Her publicist will quit soon. I mean, would any sane person advise her to outright lie in a situation where there is video evidence?
Lots of narc red flags with this one – very interesting that Harry is with her, relationships with narcissists never end well.
I don’t think their relationship will survive this PR nightmare. Harry has done a really good job over the years to protect his privacy and image and it was already shakey going into this with the timing of her break up. They will be over soon I bet.
He’s turning a new leaf so he converts to a religion that condones the abuse of children, & condemns homosexuality, and a lot of other things.
We see you, Shia. Not even a nice try.
As for Olivia.., not surprising at all. Florence called it out ages ago. I never doubted Olivia’s unprofessionalism & favouritism on that set. Olivia saw a great way to get out of a relationship & look like the good person, while clamping onto Harry & his immense popularity.
And before anyone says “she was successful in her own right”, and she was.
But not Harrys level of fame, & she needed it for her movie.
I don’t believe at all she is sincere in loving him. She thinks she is, though.
I hope he dumps her lying ass.
Same. I hope Harry extricates himself from her. He doesn’t need her messy ass.
Some people like messy. Harry is in love. He entered a disaster and is still with her.
He knows what he got into.
Exactly, I’ve seen this so many times as well and some of the most evil people I have met are the most “religious”. Go down the rabbit hole of trad and rad Caths and you’ll see that this isn’t any better for Shia.
Nobody joins the Catholic Church. People just leave it.
Not actually true. People do join it and also marry into it. My husband and sister-in-law both did.
@jesma exactly. My hubby converted ten years into our marriage. Lots of people, including very liberal ones, become Catholic for a variety of reasons.
This is so so messy. She really thought she could just lie and Shia wouldn’t say anything? Like you said Kaiser, in this one narrow issue he seems to have credibility.
Drama drama drama.
She probably thought that no one would believe Shia no matter what.
She has issues for sure. People will side eye her for everything now.
While Shia is no hero, I was always side eyeing the whole process server story since there would not have been a need for it had she instructed her lawyers to simply accept service from Sudekis’s lawyers. Which is what normally happens unless one side is being difficult on purpose. This video, being the complete opposite of the story she was trying to sell, confirms that my initial assessment of her being difficult and thus creating the need for a process server and then trying to pretend she was a victim.
I also completely understand why Florence Pugh wants to stay away from this as much as possible. Wilde was not supportive of “Miss Flo” and Pugh likely saw this from early on even before this video was leaked.
Nic 919- yeah, this video makes me believe, even more than I did already, that Jason S intentionally served her at work. Forget dodging service: There’s clearly a level of petty narcissism to Olivia that makes me fully believe her ex, Jason, would engage in similarly petty revenge upon break-up. I can only imagine what their marriage was like. There’s a reason Shia, asshole extraordinaire, didn’t immediately lash out with receipts. He timed it for maximum damage, as another commenter noted. That shows how people are motivated to react towards Olivia’s behavior, and that’s not a good sign. Jason similarly timing the process serving for maximum embarrassment fits with Shia’s reaction. This is what she inspires through her behavior. Not defending the men in either case, just saying, Olivia seems to be the common denominator.
@Rapunzel: I’m sorry to disagree with you on 1 issue but I don’t think that’s how process servers work. First, Jason Sudekis didn’t serve Olivia Wilde, a process server hired to do the job did. They don’t “represent” one side or the other, that’s why they’re trusted by the court to perform service and it will be reliable in court. They are supposed to be impartial and the person they’re working for doesn’t necessarily meet them. They go out and serve whoever is on their list and want it to be done as efficiently as possible, so I don’t think that either party would put their heads together with a server to design something sneaky for the other side. That’s why it’s not valid service to have it done by one’s sister.
These exchanges happened two years ago and he’s been quiet until now, while she repeatedly bragged about firing him for Pugh’s safety. She thought she was getting away with something and he was just picking his moment for maximum damage. What a pair.
This bit of the defense of “the production” (which means Olivia) stands out-
Variety has learned that the texts were sent before the production learned what Shia’s immersive method entailed. LaBeouf claims he “officially” quit “
How did they not have a conversation about his acting style / process before he was hired? How did she miss the endless stories of his bad behavior on sets? Olivia knew he was an abusive asshole but couldn’t get anyone else to work for her so she put her lead actress at risk by trying to talk her into what I am guessing is some boundary free, super intense process. With an abusive person.
“She put her lead actress at risk by trying to talk her into what I am guessing is some boundary free, super intense process. With an abusive person.”
Spot on. Also with a person who has herpes and gave it to his ex-girlfriend deliberately.
I’ll never understand why she felt she had to centre herself like this. She volunteered that she fired him in that variety interview. She could have just kept it classy and said it didn’t work out; no one asked her to full out, balls to the wall, lie with her entire chest. It’s so crazy to me cuz this is all her own doing. She knew these videos and messages were out there but I suppose she trusted that Shia was persona non grata enough to not challenge her version of events.
I think it’s the “main character syndrome” at play. No doubt that most Hollywood stars suffer from it, and she thought she could earn lots of points for being a thoughtful and protective director, not expecting Shia to come with receipts. And he didn’t hesitate to show those receipts, not because he’s a good guy but because he wants his career back and probably thought he did nothing wrong.
They all come across as assholes except for Florence.
She’s a Karen.. they is routine behavior for some white women in workplace. Look at the comments here, would anyone have believed Shia if he didn’t have receipts? Usually the targets are POC, though. OW picked the tale to tell because she wanted a win and knew Shia’s history would be it easier for folks to believe her. Unfortunately, this story makes it seems that Shia is truthful in All situations, FKA will be severely disadvantaged in her trial against him now.
well now the talking point is that she “never said she fired him” it was a mutual decision.
okay but if you’re begging him to stay on the film and saying “Miss Flo” needs a wakeup call then you didn’t come to that decision in order to “protect” her, so debating on whether you actually fired him misses the point lol.
Because, like the trillions of men in that industry, she’s an asshole with a huge ego that needs to be stroked constantly. She likes to present as a feminist for the acclaim it brings her, but chooses to take the misogynistic route to get what she wants. There are so many talented women in the industry that bend over backwards to not just fight shit like this but outright ban it from their own workplaces that it’s no wonder a self-serving jerk like Wilde didn’t want to put in the real work. She outright stole Booksmart from another woman. She’s just as skeezy as many of the men in the industry. And please don’t get me started on the workplace/power dynamics of f*cking someone who’s for all intents and purposes an employee. She’s a spoiled rich kid who’s never been told no and a user who dumps on those she no longer has any use for. Being a woman has absolutely no bearing on that part of the story. She’s an asshole, end of.
What’s the story behind her becoming the director of ‘Booksmart?’ I remember reading that there was something underhanded about it.
“I’ll never understand why she felt she had to centre herself like this.”
Why indeed? Her job, as a director, is to keep the drama on the screen, off of the set, and off of herself. Do your job behind the camera, let the actors promote, let the film speak for itself, and in turn, for you. Emerald Fennell is doing her thing: acting, writing, directing, winning prestigious awards without the drama.
To the celebitchy who called OW out on her white feminism when this all first started, I salute you. This is what white feminism is all about = performative and self-serving.
I don’t know about this. Part of equality is that women can be assholes, too.
Amen Eurydice.
Not at all. Women can be assholes whether they are in a dominant position or not and whether they are equal or not.
But I’m not sure why the goal of feminism would be the right to be an asshole like men…I don’t think it is or it should be. But this does say a lot about what white feminism is.
This is why I continue to reserve judgement in these situations. Too often we want to believe people are decent human beings, and will ignore anything that bumps up again this because it’s a bitter pill to swallow. The wild part is that she said this knowing she’s on video doing something totally different, and if Shia didn’t have the foresight to save it the narrative would have stood in her favor, one that she has definitely encouraged, that she wants to “protect” the people on her set. Gross all around, his behavior and hers.
The trailer looks great – the most recent clip between Harry and Flo does not look so great.
Ultimately, the production was better off without Shia with all the issues he’s involved in, but this just adds to a narrative.
When I saw the clip of HS doing INTENSE, I actually thought it was Brooklyn Beckham up there telling his new bride he was thru with cooking and is now 100% focused on being a super star actor
The way I clapyelled at this.
What I don’t understand is why Shia was even hired in the first place? By a woman no less!!!
This is also my question.
Pressure from the studio. “Hire this guy or this project goes into turnaround” is an effective motivator.
There’s no indication the studio made her hire him. She sold the project to New Line in August 2019 and was taking about Honey Boy in an interview with Katie Couric at an event in February 2020, with the official announcement about him being in the cast in spring 2020.
He is unfortunately a really charismatic actor and would have probably been great in the role. I think this was before Twigs‘ law suit and people liked to dismiss his behavior as tortured artist crap. Tom Hardy let us know years ago. But Wilde probably thought she could manipulate him into submission but she met her match.
This is just a bunch of egomaniacs ruining it for everyone else involved.
Because he is a great actor. Bad person yes, but the clip of Harry in the most recent released makes you remember that Shia would have been much better in that role.
Yeah this was back in April 2020. Also, FP was just as excited about it at first. Something clearly went very wrong and Shia needs to take ownership of that as well if he’s going to call out Olivia for lying.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniesoteriou/florence-pugh-olivia-wilde-idol-historic-feud
I heard a rumor that her issue wasn’t with Shia at all because they never actually worked together – Shia was frustrated that they weren’t able to rehearse together and sensed tension between Wilde and Pugh so he was out. that’s why she’s hoping his quitting would be a “wakeup call for Miss Flo” and get her to “commit” to the project.
a rumor I read, but it makes sense to me.
I KNEW IT. She was never not a manipulative person, every conversation I saw with her reeked of manipulation.
Damn, I wanted to trust her, she has power and she f-in lied and now Shia comes off as an honest person?!
When you make yourself look like more of an asshole than the guy who brags about murdering dogs…
I really don’t care what she lied about at all, in my view there is NOTHING she could do that would make her worse or even comparable to someone who admittedly murdered dogs for his “art” like Shia did.
Both are terrible people. It sucks that Shia is the one with the receipts and that he gets to use this issue to try to redeem himself. Olivia would have been better off telling the truth instead of pretending to be a feminist hero. White feminism at play again.
To brag and lie that she was protecting Florence when there is a video of the exact opposite happening… I can’t even. There’s video! Calling her Miss Flo and begging Shia to come back is not protecting her! Again, there is a video!? Also, why record a video while you’re driving? Is that something people do?
My first thought as well! Can she not even drive without setting the scene–Hi! I’m driving home from riding–and then calling action!
I never liked her from the first time I saw her which was when she joined the cast of the O.C. so not sorry that she is getting dragged now for being a liar. I just hope Harry Styles knows what he is doing.
If anyone is interested, The Invitation just opened in the US and is directed by Jessica Thompson.
The Woman King is directed, produced by and written by women, that will be out in September.
Elizabeth Banks directed Cocaine Bear, that will be out next February.
Emily, a biopic about Emily Bronte that was written and directed by Frances O’Conner (actress from Mansfield Park, Bedazzled, Mr Selfridge) will be out in the UK in October. Not sure about the US.
If you want to see Don’t Worry Darling for its own merits, you should. But if you wanted to watch it to support women working behind the camera, you’ve got other opportunities.
Yes, a big part of my interest in DWD was it is helmed by a female director. I want to support that generally. For that same reason it’s truly unfortunate that a female director has self-imploded in this way. The funny thing is that for me, having Styles in it was kinda a turn-off because I’m not sure he can act. But I really like Pugh so I’ll still see it at some point.
Thanks so much for this list! Appreciate it because there are a couple of films I didn’t know about.
Great! Thanks a lot for this. I would like to add that “Queen Sugar” has all it’s episodes directed by different women.
Thank you for this. I googled yesterday and there are quite a few articles listing female directed movies that have been/will be released this year and I’m going to make effort to see some of them that I wouldn’t have otherwise. OW film was a lazy choice, I admit.
This is a good list. There are actually a fair number of female directed projects set to release soon. I am really looking forward to Sarah Polley’s latest, Women Talking.
Thanks for those suggestions. Was already going to see The Woman King.
Saw The Invitation. I’d give it a B. Nothing groundbreaking but it was an enjoyable two hours at the movies. Sometimes you just want a solid, fun horror movie and that’s what it was. With a feminist twist. And I’ve liked Nathalie E since GOT and it was nice to see her as a lead.
So obviously Florence clocked this performative and playing both sides in her day to day interactions with Wilde. She could have stayed out of it, she could have just walked over the recasting because it happens all the time but she can’t help but try to make her “feminist” (quotations because it’s not authentic) director her thing. There are several other directors who happen to be women who don’t make it their talking point. Ugh she makes us all look bad!!
I would wager that Florence, for all her negative experiences with this production, had no idea until now that OW sent a video to Shia questioning “Ms. Flo’s” commitment and groveling to an actor that made her openly uneasy. If I were her, the ice would’ve turned into peaked daggers right about now, and boy would they be coming out.
However, I can also see her continuing to sit back to enjoy the “reputation grave digging show.” Her silence needs no further explanation.
@Lux I was struck by the same thought, that Florence would have likely been watching the clip for the first time with the rest of the world. My fury would be overwhelming, she’s made an excellent professional decision by keeping quiet on it all.
The brazenness of knowing exactly what she said in a VIDEO to Shia, among many other things, and then openly, boldly lying about it to a widely read industry trade leads me to believe she is an ego maniac who either isn’t very smart or is delusional. She did all of this to herself.
The delicious, crunchy topping on all of this is that Olivia Wilde comes from a family of journalists. Her mother is an investigative journalist. Her dad is an editor now but also did some heavy hitting articles, books and films. Her grandfather was also a famous journalist. Her grandmother was *also* a writer and journalist.
Imagine Thanksgiving. “So, Livvy, in this day and age, did you just not realize people keep receipts?”
And she tried to throw the Variety journalist under the bus with the “she never said she fired him” thing!
Love the name change, btw.
Re: the name change. In the first season of Ted Lasso, there’s a player named Cockburn. (You never see him, but his name is on one of the lockers so you can see it in quite a few locker room shots.) Before all this went down, I thought it was a sweet tribute to her.
Messy. I agree with the above, if Shia is looking like the honest one and a victim..things are bad. I also have no doubt Jason Sudeikis is a grade A a-hole in real life, but good luck to her swaying the public opinion away from him being Ted Lasso after this.
#teamflo
Oh My God!
This is really good gossip.
I was not expecting this particular twist in the story.
Just sipping my tea. When we said Florence had her reasons for ghosting OW, we were told FP probably just liked Sudekis more. When we said something didn’t seem right about the process server story, we were shouted down as Harry or Jason stans. Nah, Olivia is just an asshole.
One of the funniest tweets from this weekend
@GianmarcoSoresi
“We are a couple days away from finding out Olivia Wilde served herself custody papers”
Lolol!
Now I won’t be surprised if she did.
Lol, oh God, I bet that might just happen. ,
I really wish the process server would say something. We’ll never really know unless she does. Even anonymously through a lawyer
That is exactly what I’m saying. Every. Single. Time I had questions and skepticism and tried to get inside Pugh’s head and perceived distaste for Olivia: …POUNCE!
And she comes off looking worse than Shia Le Damn Beouf? She did some extra credit to get that score.
She’s a female predator, & Harry Styles is her victim. Run Harry!
Harry is old enough to know what he’s doing. Stop infantalizing your fave.
Not a fan of Harry’s, and I totally get predator vibes from OW. And you’re never too old to be manipulated.
Two things:
1) I read once that Shia went totally method during sex scenes for a film aka real sex. Florence had so many reasons to not want to work with this man, especially without adequate rehearsal time.
2) If Olivia is a narcissist, which it seems like she is, I hope Jason gets the kids. Growing up with one of those would be torture. I bet he’s never been pining for her either and it’s just part of her narrative.
Lmao. What’s the saying, birds of a feather flock together? He’s old enough to know what kind of woman she is and where his morals lie. No one forced him into this relationship.
Also don’t like wilde, she’s always screamed pick me and seems like the type of woman who would throw you under the bus, BUT. BUT. She doesn’t seem like she’s a predator. I don’t know where you’re getting that from but I would genuinely would like to know
It’s the way she lies about things to get her way. I guess manipulator is a better word than predator. I’m just speculating, but I have met a predator, & he was scary AF, the way they can convince you of anything…
I think OW & Styles went into the relationship (PR stunt or not) in part as a way to piss off their exes. If he stays with her, then he is just as shady as she is. Yuck.
You know what’s driving me really nuts? It’s that thanks to this, Shia LeBeouf’s attempts to restart his career are going to get even more traction now. While I hope he’s changed so that the people around him aren’t hurt, I wish society would put even a fraction of the effort they make in rehabilitating and protecting predators into supporting their victims. As for Wilde…what blows my mind is that all she needed to do was stick to the truth of “it didn’t work out with Shia, we have a great cast who I was so thrilled to work with, blah blah”, and it’s likely that Shia wouldn’t have unloaded all these receipts. But she had to center herself as the undisputed hero, and now look! While I don’t envy her for having to deal with Harry Styles’ rabid fans…girl, congratulations, you just played yourself.
This! All weekend, the DJ Khaled gif has been playing non-stop in my head.
Yep yep and yep.
Sometimes all the therapy just gives these guys better impulse control. This was a cold-blooded take down from a guy who’s better known for exploding and breaking stuff.
@In Th Loop, I really appreciate your comment. Olivia Wilde’s condescension (Miss Flo) and lying (Shia’s receipts) are not good, and I don’t appreciate her at all. However, Shia is a known abuser. His lack of professionalism, his scary behavior, his lack of control… he’s been given several passes before, and by publicly (he could have contacted OW privately and had her correct the record) dropping his communications with OW around the same time he’s confessed to becoming Catholic makes this look like a cynical exercise in image revamping. The conversation is now (justifiably) against OW, but he comes across looking good. Brrr!
@ML, acording to the article, he actually did contact her a wwek before all this mess. It’s linked here. She just didn’t think he’d come out after her this hard, I’m guessing.
@Diana B, Thank you for correcting me—I hadn’t read to original article at Variety. Ugh, while I dislike both SLB and the religious tone, I think you (and others here at CB) are right that OW totally misjudged his taking their correspondence public when she tried throwing him under the bus.
This story sucks so much…ugh. I wanted to support her but why did she feel she needed to lie or disguise the truth ? I don’t understand her logic here🙄
What a mess. Although it doesn’t surprise me. Wilde’s behavior and lies, that is. She’s been known to be problematic and a performative feminist for some time now. She has supported Harvey Weinstein and was a very good friend of his. There have been rumors of her even being involved in threesomes with him and his victims. ALLEGEDLY. She supports and is BFFs with Anthony Keidis, another known perv that likes really young girls. I tend to try and give ppl the benefit of the doubt and I understand that Hollywood is a cesspool of dirty laundry, rumors, etc. But Wilde has really shown her ass to the whole world with her proven, repeated lies and her own narrative spin on everything.
I would imagine with all this negative press, Harry Styles would want to steer clear of her now.
I really wish this didn’t involve Shia because otherwise I am living for this!
Neither Wilde nor Pugh give a damn about supporting abusive men.
Pugh supports d*pp and shia’s abusive tendencies have been known for YEARS. Even before fka twigs told her story. BOTH wilde and pugh agreed to work with him.
Pugh just changed her mind after he allegedly kept harassing her to rehearse with him. Some even speculating that he wanted to “rehearse” the sex scenes. And as a woman it’s totally within her right to say she doesn’t want to work with an abusive creep and her decision should be respected. Regardless if she’s a “likeable” woman her right to be safe should be respected. Feminism is for all women, even the ones you don’t like. Something these two need to keep in mind
The way she said “Miss Flo” with a heavy sigh…as if “Miss Flo” is so so difficult and the man who is known to assault colleagues is the level-headed one.
Nobody had to know about the custody papers.
Nobody had to know why Shia left the project.
Nobody has to know the reasons why she left her previous relationship.
Nobody had to know what sex was like with her first ex-husband, and your ex-fiancé.
There’s something Armie Hammer-ish about Olivia Wilde. A white person born into immense privilege cosplaying as a transgressive underdog by continually over-sharing however lying about the details. She is not the equivalent of Hammer of course but there’s something unsettlingly similar in how they present(ed) themselves to the public.
I really wanted to support this movie because of a female director, but not sure I’m gonna see this in the theater anymore. The fact that Olivia actually did the exact opposite than what she claimed she did in her Variety interview, ie did not have Florence’s back, has left me pissed off, frankly. Good on Pugh for the way she has handled all of this and I’m glad Shia kept the receipts. Not sure how Olivia comes back from this.
The video reveals she was probably attracted to him!! “Shia, shia shia,’ don’t leave me, I’m willing to lose everything! which she soon will. Jason was a cheat too and seemingly vengeful, but her diatribe about the kids being permanently scarred by the service totally turned off my empathy.
The ‘immersive’ actor who is known for abuse demanded more rehearsal time or he’s gone. And we know there are sex scenes. Gross. I appreciate Shia dropping the receipts on Olivia but I still don’t want to see any of his work, no redemption arc for me. They both suck.
Has anybody seen the TikTok going around Twitter posted by a production
Assistant on the set?
Basically says Olivia kicked her husband off set, was fooling around with Harry, spending so much time with Harry that she was neglecting her directing duties. That Flo and her got into a fight because Flo said I’m practically doing everything .
Links!!!!
Oh, it’s getting messier? Nice.
This ^^^
When she got served the way she did, there was so much sympathy. No one wondered why it happened the way it did. Little did we know it was karma serving her
Love this!
I’m guessing she sighed and found “Miss Flo” difficult because miss Flo set boundaries.
Histrionic/narcissistic people DO.NOT.LIKE.BOUNDARIES.
You don’t even have to be a full blown narcissist to show narcissistic tendencies.
The way she doesn’t respect Shia’s “no” and him quitting, is also prima example of it. She’s trying to pursuade him, and unless he (knowing his behavior) manipulated and gaslit her into wanting to “save him” and make him come back, it’s just a very good example of how Miss Olivia is used to getting her way if she just keeps pushing and move people’s boundaries.
To look for a healthy individual look for boundaries and how they respect others boundaries.
The movie industry, especially Hollywood, is not famous for respecting actors boundaries. And definitely not women’s.
Another thing is:
Narcissistic people usually end up in relationships with vulnerable, abused individuals. The kinder, the more easily pursuaded they are.
I don’t know Harry, but if he’s everything he presents as an image, he should see the red flags and run. He seems a bit impressionable to me. His openness could make it hard for him to decipher manipulative behavior and subtle control and he seems to be attracted to women with big ego’s, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he fell for her manipulation and this relationship will slowly turn more and more toxic over the years.
Unless he just met his match. Could be, I don’t know what he’s like behind his dull image.
This is just pure schadenfreude, is it not? Florence wisely stays silent, lets Olivia dig her own hole, and then she gets eaten alive because she brought a narcissistic abuser into her circle and pays the price of doing so. Now you get it, honey. Too bad you made everybody else on that set pay first.
I’m like, “Go Shia” and then immediately, “Now go crawl back into your hole, and stop popping up every six months jogging in tight leggings with a young starlet.”
I absolutely love how she’s getting called out WITH proof! Byeeeee
Yup! Same here!
As I understand it, Florence stood her ground with “Shia can be ‘method’ but I will not be participating in it.” (It sounds like she declined to even run lines/scenes, maybe taking a more workmanlike approach to the material than the “now let’s make some art!!” people around her.) In a battle of wills between Shia and Florence, in every instance Olivia Wilde deferred to Florence’s judgment, which indeed resulted in losing one lead actor. Wilde probably feels like she prioritized Florence’s comfort at the expense of having a cast. Mediating between all that would be unenviable, to say the least, so I don’t think Wilde was deliberately lying when she said she… released one actor, set him free. (But you can’t claim you fired someone, no, if he electively terminated his own contract.)
I get why everyone is mad at everyone. I understand why Florence feels like she did her job and it’s time to free her from this high-drama backstage-at-a-high-school-theater environment. I get why Wilde feels like she gets no credit for navigating a gender minefield, and I get why Shia probably feels like suing. I also think Shia’s issues do stem from a warped sense of self-worth, and “now I’m indignant and advocating for myself!” is just one stop on the long journey ahead of him. I wish everyone the best possible outcome. However, I probably will not watch their movie. I am very tired.
I think this is a more nuanced understanding of the whole situation. Yes, OW lied when she said she fired Shia, but she may feel that on some level she did, by refusing to capitulate to Shia’s requests for the type of rehearsals he wanted.
I imagine that directors would be going back and forth all the time between actors, trying to sweet-talk them into doing what the director felt was best for the project. But, OW decided to try to make a a public feminist narrative out of what she did, and that where she’s come undone.
I don’t think it’s just the lying that is the issue, Olivia trashed Florence, suggesting she wasn’t properly committed and enabled Shia to think that his position is correct and she’s on his side- “wake up call for Miss Flo”. Even if there is a step beyond this where Olivia did fire him, the way she talks about Florence is shocking. Especially for someone who talks about building trust and how women actors are often sidelined. And she doesn’t do it in the heat of a conversation with Shia, this is a video she taped. She’s that casual about it.
I kept scrolling to see if anyone else could see a more nuanced side to this story. Haven’t we all seen enough shows and movies about showbiz to know how agents and behind the scenes people have to basically tell actors whatever they want to hear to get them on board – whether they believe it or not? We have no idea what Olivia was saying to Florence about Shia, it very well could have been the exact same type of thing – who is to say this is the POV she actually believed. She was basically asking Shia to consider compromising and making peace with the lead actress. He said no and ultimately, she didn’t force Florence to do whatever Shia was asking for in order to keep Shia on board so I don’t read her comments to Variety as lies (although they were probably more detailed than they needed to be if she was hoping to avoid controversy).
I think there is a way to try to bring the two sides together without suggesting the lead actress is under committed and hasn’t put her heart into it and without accepting that another actor is going to dictate the rehearsal process. If Shia’s ideas about how to rehearse aren’t standard for filmmaking, you have to wonder, with his history of behavior on sets and in life, even before the FKA Twigs thing, why Olivia thinks Florence should adopt Shia’s process. I think Florence’s instinct was that that could go south in a way that was unmanageable and letting Shia dictate the process was not okay and the fact that Olivia shot a music video with Shia around that time and had a falling out with him over it suggests Florence’s instincts were probably right. I don’t think there’s as much nuance here as people want to think.
I imagine “Miss Flo” had zero trouble detecting Olivia’s bullshit and condescension, and that’s why she’s made it SO clear that she can’t personally stand her (by never even mentioning her by name during press interviews.
I don’t even know how the other actors in this are supposed to answer questions for promo with all the issues they have, it was already going to be a pain when it was just “What was it like working with Olivia and Harry? Did you see their romance coming?”
Huh. Maybe Jason Sudeikis isn’t such a bad guy after all.
When I read this yesterday I was thinking the same thing.
I genuinely don’t understand why this is, specifically, white feminism. It’s certainly BS feminism but they’re both white women in the context of this situation. Or is it just now the go-to term for non-intersectional performative feminism? I’m not trying to be snarky, I’m just not up to date with this stuff and would like to learn from people who are. From what it’s worth I’m POC, just not as educated as I’d like to be.
Obviously she’s a terrible feminist and ally. Frankly she always came across as performative to me, but you want to hope that women will help other women out, especially in a field where they’re walked all over by men on a day-to-day basis.
The one thing I will say is that I used to be an actor myself. On-set nicknames are extremely common and it’s entirely possible ‘Miss Flo’ was her on-set nickname and wasn’t meant to be demeaning. One of my nicknames on a project was ‘Miss Harley’ because of my habit of reading the Harley Quinn comics on set when I wasn’t filming.
The context it’s delivered it makes it ambiguous as to whether she was using a nickname or if it was done snidely. If I didn’t know how common on-set nicknames (and heard/had very similar ones myself) were I would 100% think it had to be demeaning too. I’m not defending anything she did or said to Flo, her two-faced BS ally routine is literally sickening. I’m just saying it could go either way with that one particular thing.
I never liked or trusted her. There are other women in the industry I have genuine faith in, but you just want to hope and believe when a woman says they are there to nurture and protect their female coworkers that they’re sincere. It never came up for me, but I would never have agreed to sex scenes like the ones in DWD. There’s so much vulnerability involved in acting, emotional stuff that’s entirely separate from any physical insecurities you might have. It absolutely horrifies me how awkward and perhaps even traumatic this might have been for her. A woman – and fellow actor – should know better.
Olivia’s comments are turned off on her IG. I don’t know if it’s always been like that…
A couple things:
– While Shia is a garbage human and his response to this has nothing to do with his personality in general, his email to Olivia was extremely effective in calmly yet shadily pointing out her deception.
– I have firmly believed this entire time that any rumors of BTS drama was misogynistic nonsense against Olivia. Clearly I was wrong. I’m really disturbed that she positioned herself as someone championing women and protecting her crew when she actively wanted Shia to stay after it was clear he wasn’t a good fit and Florence had issues with him. I understand she was probably trying to “negotiate” with him and wasn’t fully on his side, but she very foolishly claimed something happened that could be (and was) easily proven incorrect with receipts she was well aware exist.
– Florence Pugh has all my respect for keeping her head down and staying out of the drama while everything falls apart around her. She will come out of this looking like pure class if she just does her required promo and never speaks of this again.