What happened on the Don’t Worry Darling set? Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde drama explained as duo takes part in “screaming match,” reveals insider

A "screaming match" is said to have spilled over between Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh on the turbulent Don't Worry Darling set. An anonymous insider who seemingly spent a significant amount of time on the set told Vulture that Wilde and Pugh had a "blowout argument" in January 2021.

The latest development comes amid rising rumors of tension on the set of the latest psychological thriller between director Wilde and actress Pugh. According to the anonymous source, studio executives eventually learned of their animosity.

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What happened between Miss Pugh and director Wilde

Following the rising tensions between the two, Toby Emmerich, the highest-ranking executive at Warner Bros., was compelled to intervene as a mediator in a "long negotiation process" to ensure Florence Pugh and her involvement in the movie.

The Little Women actress allegedly became frustrated with Wilde's "frequent, unexplained absences" before the argument. This may have been connected to Wilde's then-new romance with Harry Styles, who also features in the movie. According to the insider,

"Olivia and Harry would just disappear."

The "screaming match" apparently took place when the tension reportedly reached its peak.

Another unnamed executive with awareness of the incident said that Warner Bros' senior executives were ultimately dissatisfied with how Wilde handled her promotional responsibilities for Don't Worry Darling, notably with the way she handled actor Shia LaBeouf's departure from the film.

When Wilde claimed she decided to switch the movie's male protagonist, Shia LaBeouf (28) with Styles (28) to ensure Florence Pugh felt "safe" and "supported," the animosity was further exacerbated.

Additionally, he shared a video showing Wilde had pleaded for him to continue on the project and in which she seemed to criticize Pugh by stating,

"I believe this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo."

LaBeouf subsequently claimed to be the one who left in a sequence of emails that were later made public by Variety in August.

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Cinematographer addresses rumors

Interestingly, a cinematographer who worked on the Don't Worry Darling movie recently made an attempt to refute any reports of a quarrel. According to Matthew Libatique,

“When I hear that there are rumors of acrimony on the set — I reject it. It wasn’t apparent at all, to be honest,”

He added,

“From my standpoint, the stories are completely untrue when it comes to being on set. I can’t speak to post-production at all.”

Olivia Wilde herself commented on the rumors and has since said that the feud is nothing but “invented clickbait.” Meanwhile, Florence Pugh has not addressed the rumors nor denied them.

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Florence Pugh misses out on promotional events

Following the release of Shia's video, Florence Pugh skipped a press appearance to promote the film at the Venice Film Festival.

At the conference, Wilde asserted that Pugh was not present because she was in production for Dune: Part Two, but she added that Pugh was confirmed to be with the cast on the red carpet later that evening.

However, the actress also missed the September 19 New York City premiere of Don't Worry Darling.

Florence made just one brief appearance at the Venice Film Festival in the months ahead of the movie's scheduled release. Pugh has avoided cameras outside the international premiere of the movie.