Shia LaBeouf Denies Olivia Wilde Fired Him From 'Don't Worry Darling'

By Rebekah Gonzalez

August 26, 2022

Photo: Getty Images

Shia LaBeouf is firing back after director Olivia Wilde shared that she had to fire him from her highly-anticipated movie Don't Worry Darling just as production was starting in 2020. In her August 24th cover story with Variety, Wilde opened up about LaBeouf's departure from the film.

“I say this as someone who is such an admirer of his work. His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions," Wilde said in the story. "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."

Now, the actor is asserting that he chose to leave the production on his own. In email messages sent to Variety the day after Wilde's cover story ran, LaBeouf denied he was fired and instead claims, "he quit the film due to lack of rehearsal time." The emails also included two sent to Wilde after the story was published. "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," he allegedly wrote to Wilde. "You and I both know the reasons for my exit. I quit your film because your actors and I couldn’t find time to rehearse.”

Variety also received information from another studio source that described LaBeuof's exit not as "getting fired" or "quitting" but as a collective recognition that LaBeouf's style of acting wasn't a good match for Wilde's approach as a director.

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