Olivia Wilde addresses 'different standards' for male and female directors amid Don't Worry Darling drama
Olivia Wilde believes the dramas surrounding her movie Don't Worry Darling have sidelined the film in a way that doesn't happen with projects directed by men.
The filmmaker's movie has been overshadowed by various dramas in recent weeks, with the headlines speculating if she is feuding with her lead actress Florence Pugh, whether her leading man Harry Styles spat on Chris Pine during the Venice Film Festival, and if she fired Shia LaBeouf from the movie or he quit.
During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night, Wilde was questioned about all the headlines and she noted that male directors don't get treated in the same way.
"I don't feel like my male directing colleagues are answering questions about their cast," she said. "People would actually be talking about the movie itself. They’re praised for being tyrannical. They can be investigated time and time again, it still doesn’t overtake conversations of their actual talent or about the film themselves. This is something we’ve come to expect. It is just very different standards that are created for women and men - in the world at large, we're not just talking about Hollywood."
She added that it was "frustrating" to see the project she has spent three years making being sidelined "in a way that I don't see them (people) doing to men".
During the interview, Wilde denied that Styles spat on Pine and insisted that she has "nothing against" Pugh "for any reason".
Colbert also pushed her to clarify whether she fired LaBeouf or if he quit and she explained that both perspectives were true because she picked Pugh when LaBeouf forced her to choose between her leads.
"We had to replace Shia - he is a fantastic actor, but it wasn't going to work. When he gave me the ultimatum of him or Florence - I chose Florence and that was him feeling he was stepping away and me feeling like we were moving on without him," she shared.
"Anyone who has ever dealt with conflict knows there are levels to it before there's a conclusion. In this case, everyone ended up with what they wanted - he didn't want to be a part of a production we were making in the way I like to make productions so he moved on. We moved on and replaced him and ended up with a cast I'm so proud of."
Don't Worry Darling is released in cinemas on Friday.
