Entertainment
Shia LaBeouf denies Olivia Wilde’s claims she fired him from Don’t Worry Darling: ‘You and I both know the reasons for my exit’-Rachael O'Connor-Entertainment – Metro
The actor insists he quit the production.
Olivia Wilde opened up on firing Shia LaBeouf from her filming a recent interview – however he says this never happened (Picture: Getty)
Shia LaBeouf has denied that he was fired from Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling.
The psychological thriller, starring Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, is set for release in a few short weeks, and excitement has been building since the release of the trailer.
Director Wilde made headlines this week when she spoke to Variety about how she had fired LaBeouf, originally cast in the role now taken by the former One Direction star.
Insisting she was ‘such an admirer of his work,’ Wilde said ‘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.’
‘I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them. That was my job.’
LaBeouf has now spoken out about Wilde’s comments and insisted that he chose to walk away from the project, and even reportedly shared years-old texts between the two to back this up.
LaBeouf reportedly told Wilde they ‘both know the reason for my exit’ (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)
According to Variety, the Holes actor got in touch in the days after their interview with Wilde was published, and forwarded them an email he had sent to the director where he said he was ‘confused by the narrative that I was fired.’
‘You and I both know the reasons for my exit,’ he said. ‘I quit your film because your actors & I couldn’t find time to rehearse.’
In an email in which he wished Wilde’s family well and spoke about his own family, including his wife Mia and five-month-old daughter, LaBeouf went on to warn that ‘if lies are repeated enough in the public they become truth… firing me never took place, Olivia.’
He suggested she was ‘pushing that story because of the current social landscape, the social currency that brings’ but insisted it ‘is not the truth.’
LaBeouf shared an email he sent to director WIlde telling her to tell ‘the truth’ about his role in DOn’t Worry Darling (Picture: Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Festival)
‘So I am humbly asking… that you correct the narrative as best you can.’
Attached to the email were screenshots of texts allegedly sent between LaBeouf and Wilde in 2020, in which he said he would have to back out of production and, after an in-person meeting, the director allegedly wrote: ‘Thanks for letting me in on your thought process. I know that isn’t fun.
‘Doesn’t feel good to say no to someone, and I respect your honesty.’
LaBeouf was replaced by musician and actor Harry Styles, who stars alongside Florence Pugh in thenew film (Picture: Warner Bros Pictures)
She later allegedly sent LaBeouf another message which appeared to suggest she wanted to keep him in the role saying she was ‘not ready to give up on this yet.’
The director also appeared to refer to issues between LaBeouf and co-star Pugh, asking if ‘Miss Flo… really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace — and I respect your point of view, I respect hers — but if you guys can do it, what do you think?
‘Is there hope? Will you let me know?’
LaBeouf shared messages reportedly sent between himself and Wilde in 2020 where she appeared to ask him to change his mind about leaving the role (Picture: Getty Images North America)
After LaBeouf’s exit, he was accused of sexual battery and abuse by ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs, who claimed that he abused her ‘physically, emotionally and mentally many times in a relationship that lasted just short of a year’ – something he has denied,
She filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2020, with the case set to be heard in 2023. Wilde publicly backed the Two Weeks singer on social media, offering her ‘love, respect and support’ on Instagram.
In his email to Variety, he accepted his ‘failings with Twigs are real and fundamental, but they are not the narrative that has been presented.’
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‘There is a time and a place to deal with such things, and I am trying to navigate a nuanced situation with respect for her and the truth, hence my silence.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Wilfefor comment.
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