‘There’s a Reason I Left That Relationship’: Olivia Wilde’s First Public Comments on Being Served Onstage

The tangled thicket of drama surrounding Olivia Wilde’s upcoming film, Don’t Worry Darling, grows denser each day. From the intrigue of Wilde and Jason Sudeikis’ breakup to the absolute horror of cast members not liking each other’s Instagram posts, there’s barely been a moment for me to figure out what the movie is actually about. Today’s thorny sprig of interest is Wilde commenting publicly for the first time on her ex-fiance serving her custody papers.

For those not lost in the deep bramble of this debacle, back in April, Sudeikis served Wilde custody papers while she was onstage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas debuting the first preview for the film. To her credit, she accepted the envelope without fanfare, only saying, “Okay, got it, thank you.” And to Sudeikis’ credit, he said he was “very, very sorry that the incident marred her special moment.” Credit for everyone!

And now, in an interview with Variety, Wilde said that what her ex did was “really vicious” and that the “nastiness distracted from the work of so many different people and the studio I was up there representing.” She continued, “But, you know, sadly, it was not something that was entirely surprising to me. I mean, there’s a reason I left that relationship.”

Earlier this month, the Daily Mail published court documents revealing that Wilde was extremely pissed off over how she received those papers. “Jason’s actions were clearly intended to threaten me and catch me off guard,” she said in the documents. “The fact that Jason would embarrass me professionally and put our personal conflict on public display in this manner is extremely contrary to our children’s best interests.”

Frankly, it is a bad look to serve someone papers so publicly and at such a high moment in their career. Though, again, Sudeikis alleges he was unaware that it would go down that way. The profile suggests that while Wilde seemingly has made peace with her role in the celebrity news cycle, she has a much harder time seeing her children being pulled in. “The only people who suffered were my kids, because they’ll have to see that, and they shouldn’t ever have to know that happened.” She added, “I willingly walked into the spotlight. But it’s not something my children have asked for. And when my kids are dragged into it, it’s deeply painful.”

Along with that clearly sensitive situation, Wilde also spoke about the journey of bringing Don’t Worry Darling to fruition. She touched on firing Shia LeBeouf, also for the first time, before learning about allegations against him. “I find myself just really wishing him health and evolution because I believe in restorative justice,” she said. But that, on set, she found he had “a process that, in some ways, seems to require a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances.”

The profile also makes note of a “14-minute tangent” of Wilde’s which involved how “the cycle of not believing in women stems from the post-Depression ideal of a nuclear family unit led by the father, a deeply internalized system designed to control women.” There’s no shortage of things on Wilde’s mind, and she did her darnedest to fit a chaotic amount of them into this interview.

There’s also been no shortage of Darling drama and it seems unlikely chatter about the film will die down before the theatrical premiere late next month. Personally, I’m particularly interested in Pugh’s poignant refusal to post about the film on her Instagram. To be a fly in that panicked PR room!