Olivia Wilde reacts to why Florence Pugh isn’t defending her: ‘I didn’t hire her to post. I hired her to act’

Filmmaker-actor Olivia Wilde has reacted to why actor Florence Pugh has not been more vocal about her or their movie Don’t Worry Darling, on social media platforms. In a new interview, Olivia said that she hired Florence ‘to act’ and not ‘to post’ adding that she ‘fulfilled every single expectation’ she had of Florence. She also praised Florence saying that she exquisitely ‘did the job I hired her to do’ and blew her away. (Also Read | Harry Styles says he didn’t know he would ‘hurt’ people by dating Olivia Wilde)

For the last few months, rumours have been doing the round of a feud between Florence and Olivia. Florence has not posted much about the film on her Instagram and also didn’t share the trailer. She also skipped the traditional news conference ahead of the screening of the film. At the Venice Film Festival, Florence also did not make eye contact with Olivia during the standing ovation following the premiere.

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Olivia reacted to a rumour of neglecting Florence. “It is very rare that people assume the best from women in power. I think they don’t often give us the benefit of the doubt. Florence did the job I hired her to do, and she did it exquisitely. She blew me away. Every day I was in awe of her, and we worked very well together. It is ironic that now, with my second film—which is again about the incredible power of women, what we’re capable of when we unite, and how easy it is to strip a woman of power by using other women to judge and shame them—we’re talking about this,” Olivia said.

Reacting to Florence’s silence about the movie and Olivia, she said, “Florence is one of the most in-demand actresses in the universe. She’s on set on Dune. I gather that some people expect for her to be engaging more on social media. I didn’t hire her to post. I hired her to act. She fulfilled every single expectation I had of her. That’s all that matters to me. Florence’s performance in this film is astounding. It’s just baffling to me that the media would rather focus on baseless rumours and gossip, thereby overshadowing her profound talent. She deserves more than that. As does the movie, and everyone who worked so hard on it.”

Shia LaBeouf was originally cast in the film only to be replaced by Harry Styles. Olivia Wilde has fuelled rumours she sacked him, telling Vanity Fair magazine last month that she did not like his work ethos. LaBoeuf rejected her version of events and released a voice message he had received from her urging him to stay on board. It was also said that Olivia did it for Florence but Florence and Shia actually share a good eqution.

The film will have a theatrical release on September 23. In the movie, Florence and Harry play a happy couple living in a brightly coloured 1950s community, deep in the US desert. But the idyllic calm is shattered when one of the neighbourhood housewives goes missing and her character Alice comes to question the reality surrounding her.