Olivia Wilde has set the record straight on what really happened during the promotional tour for Don’t Worry Darling and how one 1990s pop culture icon helped her overcome it.
Appearing on an episode of Call Her Daddy, the movie’s director explained that she wanted to be more honest at the time, but ultimately decided against it. “I wanted to be like, ‘Can I just talk to people?’” Wilde told Alex Cooper. “Can I just go and say like, ‘That’s not true?’ And it was like, ‘No, that won’t help.’ And that was really hard.”
At the same time, Wilde was also trying to promote the film on behalf of its cast and crew. “I was like, ‘It’s not about me. It’s about this movie that everyone works so hard to make,’” Wilde said. “And I felt like I was working on behalf of hundreds of people who had worked through COVID to make something really difficult.”
Gemma Chan, Harry Styles, Sydney Chandler, director Olivia Wilde and Chris Pine attend the “Don’t Worry Darling” red carpet at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 05, 2022 in Venice, Italy.Photo by Daniele Venturelli/WireImage
The film’s press tour quickly hit headlines. Olivia, at the time, was dating the leading man, Harry Styles, which only fuelled interest. Thankfully, she found comfort in her boyfriend, though they split not long after.
“There was all this public madness, but my private life was very far from it,” Wilde said. “And very, actually kind of wholesome and sweet. I had a lot of like real joy and love and happiness during that time. It was like the tornado was right outside the door and if you were inside, you were like, ‘It’s so nice,’ and then you’d open the door and a f—— like cow and a tractor would fly by.”
Olivia found solace in Pamela Anderson‘s 2023 Netflix documentary, Pamela, A Love Story, which premiered four months after Don’t Worry Darling. “After I saw the documentary about Pamela Anderson, I reached out to her, and I was like, ‘Yo, respect. Just want to say big fan, respect.’”
Pamela was aware of some of the public backlash, and wrote back to Olivia with some kind words. “She said, ‘The most rebellious thing you can do is stay soft. Don’t let it harden you,’” the Booksmart director recalled.
Pamela Anderson attends the Premiere of Netflix’s “Pamela, a love story” at TUDUM Theater on January 30, 2023 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
The speculation around Wilde and her movie peaked when, during the Venice Film Festival, there was a rumour that Styles spat on his co-star Chris Pine. The Star Trekactor denied this happened a year later toEsquire.
That same day, Don’t Worry Darling’s leading star, Florence Pugh, arrived for a screening but did not pose for any photos with Wilde. The internet was alight with memes, rumors and gossip about what happened behind the scenes. Still, Wilde kept quiet about what happened behind the scenes, even if it made the outrage louder.
“I felt frustrated that I couldn’t defend myself, but it also felt like, ‘Okay, it’s not about you. Just get the movie out,’” she said. “And the pummeling that I took was so insanely disproportionate.”
Still, she understood that people were “looking for evidence to reinforce the narrative” that they’d created about her and were only interested in reinforcing their own opinions. “I don’t blame people, because I understand,” Wilde said, admitting that she knew that the anger wasn’t directed at her, and “people just removed the human” from the situation.
Olivia is now thankful she didn’t speak up about her thoughts during the whirlwind of it all. “I think that my own attempt to be strong and to kind of like rise above it in a way came off as inauthentic,” she said.
Looking back at the drama now, the House actress admitted that she also “didn’t understand the value of vulnerability” at the time. “I actually think there’s value in being vulnerable and just being like, ‘Oh, ouch. I don’t know, this hurts!’”
She added that her attempts to be strong and rise above the public outrage may have come off “as inauthentic,” explaining, “People are like, ‘You must be hurting. Why are you pretending to not be hurting? … I sense that you’re not showing us your pain, and therefore, I’m gonna cause you more pain.’”
This story was originally published by Parade on Jun 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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