The Don’t Worry Darling controversy dominated entertainment headlines and social media feeds in the months leading up to the film’s 2022 premiere at the Venice Film Festival. For months ahead of the festival, rumors of tension between director Wilde and star Florence Pugh during Don’t Worry Darling’s filming circulated among film news enthusiasts. The drama finally burst through into the wider public’s attention after a tense, confusing, and meme-making Venice premiere.
Don’t Worry Darling is Olivia Wilde’s second directorial effort, coming three years behind her critically successful debut Booksmart. The psychological thriller is led by Academy Award nominee and rising star Florence Pugh, who stars alongside Harry Styles. They play Alice and Jack, a young couple who relocate into a perfect neighborhood being built by Jack’s company before Alice realizes all is not as it appears. Many members of the cast were involved in the controversies, and, while Don’t Worry Darling was ultimately a box office success, the movie isn’t as famous as its many controversies.
There Appears To Be A Feud Between Florence Pugh & Olivia Wilde
There Were Clear Disagreements
Audiences and reporters began speculating about a feud between Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde on the set of Don’t Worry Darling.This was fueled by Pugh’s neglect in promoting the film. Pugh did not share posters or trailers from Don’t Worry Darling on her social media, which she did for her other films, Oppenheimer and Dune: Part 2 . Pugh did not attend the press shoots before the premiere of Don’t Worry Darling at the Venice Film Festival with the rest of the cast on September 5, instead posting photos of herself and her grandmother on the red carpet.
While they have never been publicly confirmed, Don’t Worry Darling controversies involving Pugh and Wilde’s feud were numerous. One theory suggested that Pugh was unhappy about Wilde beginning to date co-star Styles while on set, while still married to now ex-husband Jason Sudeikis, who is a friend of Pugh’s. It has also been speculated that Pugh was upset about a pay disparity between herself and her inexperienced co-star Styles, a rumor Wilde has publicly dismissed as entirely false clickbait (via E! News).
“As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds itself. I don’t feel the need to contribute. I think it’s sufficiently well-nourished.”
Shia LaBeouf’s Mysterious Departure From Don’t Worry Darling
The Controversy Started Early
Another Don’t Worry Darling controversy that came into the public eye was the departure of Shia LaBeouf from the movie. In April 2020, LaBeouf was initially announced to play the lead role of Jack, with Olivia Wilde cast as his co-lead Alice and Florence Pugh set to play a supporting role. Eventually, Wilde and Pugh swapped roles after deciding that Don’t Worry Darling should focus on a younger couple.
In September 2020, it was reported that LaBeouf had left the project due to “scheduling conflicts“, but People reported in December 2020 that the actor was fired from Don’t Worry Darling, and Harry Styles would be replacing him as Jack. Following two years of silence on the matter, in August 2022, Wilde spoke to Variety about firing LaBeouf, citing his poor behavior and “combative energy” which, according to her, created too hostile of a work environment on the set of Don’t Worry Darling.
However, days later, LaBeouf gave his version of events. LaBeouf claimed that he was not fired from Don’t Worry Darling and that he chose to quit the film on his own due to a lack of rehearsal time. Bolstering his assertions, Shia LaBeouf’s reaction to the Don’t Worry Darling controversy included attached screenshots of what appear to be several text messages between himself and Wilde where he informs the director of his intentions to leave the film.
The actor also included a video Wilde had sent him where she asks for LaBeouf to return to Don’t Worry Darling and makes references to hostility between LaBeouf and Pugh, calling her “Miss Flo” and seemingly blaming the actress for the situation. While the exact nature of and the chain of events that seemingly led to tensions between Pugh and LaBeouf have never been revealed, it stands to reason that Pugh was not happy about Wilde seeming to support LaBeouf in the situation.
Don’t Worry Darling’s Seating Arrangements
Relationship Drama Caused Problems
Another Don’t Worry Darling controversy was the nature and timing of Wilde’s relationship with Styles. Wilde’s split with long-time fiancé and Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis was rumored to be a result of Wilde falling for Styles while on the set of Don’t Worry Darling. The relationship between Styles and Wilde reportedly caused her to be distracted while shooting the film, forcing cinematographer Matthew Libatique to step in and direct several scenes of the movie.
It remains unclear exactly when Styles and Wilde began dating or if that is the reason for her split from Sudeikis. The split between Wilde and Sudeikis did not appear amicable, and tensions spilled out into the public. On April 26, 2022, Wilde was served custody papers at CinemaCon on behalf of Sudeikis while on stage promoting Don’t Worry Darling. If reports Pugh was on the side of Sudeikis are accurate, it would help to explain Pugh’s apparent disdain for her director during the press tour for the film.
Many fans also found it odd that Wilde and Styles were not photographed next to each other in Venice nor seated together during the screening. Supporting cast member Chris Pine sat between Styles and Wilde during the film’s showing, creating yet another incident that sparked speculation and interest in a Don’t Worry Darling controversy. However, according to Harpers Bazaar, Wilde and Styles appeared to be together until November 2022, when People reported the pair were taking a break.
The Rumor That Harry Styles Spit On Chris Pine
One Video Seemed To Hint At More Problems
Perhaps the strangest development with the Don’t Worry Darling controversy was a video in which Harry Styles appears to spit on Chris Pine when sitting down next to him at the Venice premiere. Amid constant speculation about other Don’t Worry Darling controversies, users on Twitter started to analyze footage of Chris Pine appearing disinterested in Harry Styles’s answers to questions from reporters during the film’s press conference. Pine’s facial expressions during the event led to numerous memes and tweets.
This fueled speculation there had quietly been a feud between Styles and Pine in addition to the hostility between Pugh and Wilde. A video was tweeted that from one angle seemed to show Styles spitting on Pine and Pine reacting in disbelief. Reps for both stars publicly denied the rumor. Other camera angles do not show any spit leaving Styles’ mouth, and six months later, Chris Pine told the real story behind Spitgate and proved the internet’s reaction to the Don’t Worry Darling controversy was premature.
Don’t Worry Darling’s Reviews
The Controversy Might’ve Hurt The Film
After the Don’t Worry Darling controversy, critical reactions to the film were largely negative. Don’t Worry Darling opened at 42% on Rotten Tomatoes and leveled out at 38%. One thing consistently pointed out as a positive in Don’t Worry Darling’s reviews and reactions is the performance of Florence Pugh. The subdued response to Don’t Worry Darling and the off-screen controversies had the potential to damage Wilde’s reputation as a director, though it seems time managed to cool off some of the controversy.
While the behind-the-scenes Don’t Worry Darling controversy was overwhelming, excitement for Pugh’s performance combined with Styles’ popstar status bolstered the film’s box office. According to Box Office Mojo, Don’t Worry Darling earned $87 million. The film’s controversy may have seen it gain viewership numbers it otherwise wouldn’t have seen. The Don’t Worry Darling controversy set up an interesting test case in the debate about the impact of social media on the financial returns of films.
The Controversies May Have Hurt Don’t Worry Darling’s Box Office
The Tense Atmosphere On Set Arguably Stunted The Movie’s Potential
While the controversy surrounding Don’t Worry Darling may have gained it an increased viewership and helped fill more seats in theaters than it otherwise would have done, there’s also a chance that the production issues may have harmed its box-office take too.Don’t Worry Darling had a box-office take of $87 million against a budget of $20-35 million.
It can hardly be considered a flop, since it over double its budget. However, with a cast that includes the likes of Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, and Olivia Wilde, not to mention a plot that could have become a “you have to see this” cultural zeitgeist-grabbing talking point, it could have done much better. The critical reviews for Don’t Worry Darling show the impact the fraught and tense production journey had on the finished product. 38% is an incredibly low score for a movie that’s arguably trying to be a cerebral watch that’s laced with many deeper themes.
What’s more, the domestic opening weekend was $19 million, almost a fifth of the overall box-office take for the entire theatrical run. This suggests that there was an initial surge from audiences who were intrigued by the reputation of the movie alone, but that Don’t Worry Darling ultimately had no staying power.
Simply put, Don’t Worry Darling didn’t gain enough momentum to perform as well as it could have done based on this admittedly-admirable early performance. The fault for this can’t be placed on the controversies alone, but the working conditions the behind-the-scenes dramas give a glimpse of could mean that the movie wasn’t as good as it could have been given the cast and premise.
Had director Olivia Wilde been working in less frenetic conditions, the final cut of Don’t Worry Darling may have lived up to its potential and been one of 2022’s runaway box-office successes of the likes of Everything Everywhere All At Once. Unfortunately, however, the final version of the movie was less than the sum of its parts.
