There's been more than a fair share of buzz and gossip from the cast and crew of Olivia Wilde's upcoming film 'Don't Worry Darling'. The latest of which saw Wilde point the metaphorical finger at Shia LaBeouf, claiming she fired him from his role as the leading man in 2020. Now, Shia has come out in retaliation saying that "it is not the truth".
Between Florence Pugh's disdain for being "reduced to sex scenes" based on the trailer of the upcoming psychological thriller and the buzz surrounding the on-set romance between Wilde and star Harry Styles, there's been so much gossip surrounding this film.
But the latest in 'Don't Worry Darling' land sees Wilde and Shia LaBeouf at the center of it all; Wilde told Variety the reason behind her claim that she fired the controversial actor, "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".
But Shia seems to be calling bullshit on her statement and apparently, he has the receipts to prove it. Armed with text evidence of the incident in 2020 and his rebuttal, LaBeouf emailed Variety to give his account of the alleged firing.
According to LaBeouf, he and the other actors' schedules were clashing and they couldn't find the time to rehearse. In his email response, he included forwarded emails he sent Olivia after her statement from the 24th and 25th of August, and addressing Olivia, he states "you and I both know the reasons for my exit".
"I know that you are beginning your press run for DWD and that the news of my firing is attractive clickbait, as I am still persona-non-grata and may remain as such for the rest of my life" LaBeouf states in his email.
He continues "So I am humbly asking, as a person with an eye toward making things right, that you correct the narrative as best you can".
However, according to Variety both studio sources and sources with alleged knowledge of the incident described it as "more of a collective recognition that LaBeouf’s style of acting wasn’t a good fit for Wilde’s approach as a director".
LaBeouf also included screenshots of text messages exchanged between him and the director in August 2020 that he claims pertain to the recent firing scandal. The texts follow a thread that illustrates a meeting face to face in which there was a conversation suggesting that LaBeouf may no longer work on the film.
After the meeting, Wilde sent a text saying “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. I’m honored you were willing to go there with me, for me to tell a story with you. I’m gutted because it could have been something special. I want to make clear how much it means to me that you trust me. That’s a gift I’ll take with me".
LaBeouf claims he "quit" the following day. Variety stated that he also sent them a video of Wilde driving, wherein she hints at potential tension between LaBeouf and the leading actor for the film, Florence Pugh — whom Wilde refers to as "Miss Flo". In the video, Wilde says "I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and I too am heartbroken and I want to figure this out".
