Don’t Worry Darling made its much anticipated premiere at the Venice Film Festival yesterday, after a Pugh-free and tense press conference to promote the movie.
The movie has been embroiled in controversy amid Wilde’s rumored feud with Pugh.
The actress’ stylist threw some subtle shade at Wilde on Instagram as she shared Pugh’s look for the star-studded premiere.
Rebecca Corbin-Murray posted a series of photos of Pugh before the premiere wearing a Maison Valentino gown at her hotel room, at a Venice pier and aboard the boat that ferried her to the red carpet event.
Corbin-Murray captioned the Instagram post: “Miss Flo,” in a subtle dig at Wilde.
The director had referred to Pugh as ‘Miss Flo’ in a video call to actor Shia LeBeouf during the casting process for Don’t Worry Darling. He then sent the video to Variety to prove he had not been fired from the role, but rather quit the production himself.
“I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us,” she said to the actor who had just stepped down from the role.
Wilde last month told media she had fired LeBeouf from the role and replaced him Harry Styles. But LeBeouf spoke out last week against the claims, saying he stepped down and there was no bad blood between him and Pugh, despite Wilde’s assertions.
Wilde said she made the decision to fire LaBeouf because “his process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions. He has 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.”
Other triggers for the alleged feud between the two women included rumors Pugh was forced to take over directing the film, and that she was unhappy about the blossoming romance between Wilde and Styles.
In an interview with Variety, Wilde addressed a range of rumors surrounding Don’t Worry Darling, including the false reports that Styles had received $2.5 million for the film while Pugh only got $700,000.
At yesterday’s press conference Wilde shut down the rumors of a feud with Pugh.
She said Pugh was unavailable to attend the press conference with the rest of the cast as she is currently filming the movie Dune 2.
“Florence is a force and we are so grateful that she is able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune,” Wilde said.
“I know as a director how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day so I’m very grateful to her and Denis Villeneuve for helping us—we’re really thrilled we’ll get to celebrate her work tonight.”
Wilde, who is currently dating Styles, the former One Direction star, was then asked by a reporter about the apparent “falling out” between herself and Pugh.
“I can’t say enough how honored I am to have her as our lead,” she said. “She’s amazing in the film and 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.”
Another reporter, Alex Ritman of The Hollywood Reporter, asked a question about this situation during the press conference but was shut down by a moderator, with an awkward few seconds of silence following.
Pugh arrived at the film festival Monday afternoon after the press conference had taken place.
Don’t Worry Darling also stars Chris Pine, Nick Kroll and Gemma Chan. It is scheduled to be released in theaters on September 23. The film is the second directorial effort from Wilde, following her acclaimed 2019 debut, Booksmart.
