Olivia Wilde is looking back at one of the most talked-about chapters of her career. And she believes the headlines surrounding her personal life ended up drowning out the conversation she wanted audiences to have.
Four years after ‘Don’t Worry Darling‘ became the center of nonstop controversy, the director has opened up about how her public breakup with Harry Styles and the wave of online drama affected both the movie and her personally.
Olivia Wilde Says Harry Styles Split Overshadowed ‘Don’t Worry Darling’
Speaking on the latest episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast, Olivia looked back at the intense media storm that surrounded ‘Don’t Worry Darling‘ in 2022. At the time, she and Harry Styles had been dating for nearly two years after meeting on the film. Their relationship ended shortly after the movie’s release, just as speculation about the cast and production reached its peak.
Louis Theroux pointed out that the movie’s release was “derailed by publicity,” describing it as a period filled with “many multidimensional scandals.” He also noted that Wilde’s breakup with Harry, combined with the public fascination over their relationship, added another layer to the controversy, with much of the coverage carrying what he described as a “misogynistic dimension.”
Olivia agreed that the attention surrounding her personal life took attention away from the movie. “I think it did hurt the film for sure. It’s because we didn’t get to have the conversations about what the film was trying to say. It was a shame because so many people worked so hard to make that film in the depths of COVID. We made the film for $30 million. I think it looks like a much more expensive film because of the work of people like Matty Libatique, who shot the film, and Katie Byron, who production designed the film.“
She admitted that the experience affected her personally as well. “But we never got to talk about that, so I think it hurt the film. It hurt me for sure. It’s because I was so naive up until that point about the grinder. The garbage disposal that the internet can be. So at this point, I have enough of a perspective on it. And that allows me to experience it as a fascinating time. It is interesting to witness a tornado from the inside.“
Olivia Wilde Says Returning To The Press Has Been Healing
Now promoting her new marital comedy ‘The Invite‘, Olivia said this press tour has felt completely different from what she experienced during Don’t Worry Darling. She admitted she was worried about returning to interviews after everything that happened in 2022.’
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“Well, it’s interesting because this is my first time back into the press cycle since then. And I did wonder, would this feel quite traumatizing? I find that the conversations around The Invite are so wonderfully interesting to me, and I’ve actually been allowed to have them. So, it’s been actually kind of healing because I understand that it’s not always a garbage disposal.“
Her latest film ‘, starring herself alongside Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton, has already generated major buzz. It sparked a 72-hour, $10 million bidding war before A24 secured the rights over Warner Bros. and Focus Features. Critics have also praised Wilde’s latest directorial effort, making the experience feel like a fresh start after the difficult rollout of ‘Don’t Worry Darling‘.
Now, she seems less interested in revisiting the gossip and more focused on how the constant attention surrounding her relationship with Harry Styles changed the conversation around ‘Don’t Worry Darling‘. The movie may have topped the box office, but the headlines off-screen often became a bigger story than what audiences saw on screen.
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