Olivia Wilde doesn’t want Stephen Colbert to worry about the various rumors surrounding her new movie.
The Don’t Worry Darling director and actress is a guest on CBS’ The Late Show on Wednesday ahead of the Warner Bros. film’s release this Friday, where she addressed several of the rumors surrounding the project, starting with Shia LaBeouf.
In early September, LaBeouf came forward and countered Wilde’s claims that he had been fired from Don’t Worry Darling, saying that he quit the film instead and providing texts and videos that showed her asking him to stay in the cast.
When asked by Colbert to clarify whether LaBeouf quit or was fired from the film, Wilde said that she tried to play mediator between the actor and her lead actress Florence Pugh.
“Once it became clear that it was not a tenable working relationship, I was given an ultimatum,” she told the late-night host. “I chose my actress, which I’m very happy I did. At the time, was I bummed that we weren’t able to make it work? Sure. Did information about him come to light later that made me confident we made the right decision? Absolutely.”
Colbert then pushed her to clarify why LaBeouf thinks he quit, while she thinks he was fired, to which she replied that the way it happened, they both felt like they were moving on without each other.
Next up, the director discussed the so-called “Spit-Gate” speculation that had surrounded a viral video and led social media users to question whether Harry Styles spat on co-star Chris Pine during the film’s premiere screening earlier this month at the Venice Film Festival.
“Another one of our weird rumors, Spit-Gate, which you might have heard about, is I think …” Wilde said before Colbert cut her off.
The host made it clear he had wanted to ask Wilde about the furor and appeared to read from his notecard: “Did Harry Styles spit on Chris Pine? Why or why not? Support your answer.”
Wilde laughed and replied, “No, he did not. But I think it’s a perfect example of, like, people will look for drama anywhere they can. Harry did not spit on Chris, in fact …”
Colbert again interrupted her to quip, “Only time will tell.”
Pine’s team previously issued a statement emphatically denying that Styles spat on him. Additionally, Styles poked fun at the debate during a recent performance at Madison Square Garden.
Finally, Wilde addressed the rumors that she and Pugh are “feuding.”
“I have nothing but respect for Florence’s talent,” she told Colbert. “She’s fantastic. She’s on the set of her movie Dune right now, and there’s nothing cooler than a busy actress. I have nothing against her in for any reason.”
She went on to explain that she finds it interesting that none of her fellow male directors are being asked questions about their cast, and the host agreed with her.
“People would actually be talking about the movie itself,” Wilde said. “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.”
The Late Show airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.
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