Olivia Wilde is currently preparing for the release of her latest film, Don’t Worry Darling, a psychological thriller set in the 1950s. In the lead-up to the film’s debut, the actress and director experienced an unexpected personal development though. While on stage promoting the feature at CinemaCon this past April, Wilde was served with legal papers by her ex-partner, Jason Sudeikis. Wilde had remained mum on the situation since it occurred, but she’s now opening about getting the legal documents in front of a live audience.
At the time the incident occurred, one of the biggest questions revolved around how the person who served the documents was able to get into the Warner Bros. CinemaCon panel in the first place. This was something that Olivia Wilde addressed when opening up about the moment during a wide-ranging interview. The actress didn’t hold back while reflecting on the unexpected event, which she calls “scary”:
It was my workplace. In any other workplace, it would be seen as an attack. It was really upsetting. It shouldn’t have been able to happen. There was a huge breach in security, which is really scary. The hurdles that you had to jump through to get into that room with several badges, plus special COVID tests that had to be taken days in advance, which gave you wristbands that were necessary to gain access to the event — this was something that required forethought.
Sometime after the incident at CinemaCon occurred, Jason Sudeikis stated that he had “no prior knowledge” of how or where his former partner would be served the papers. The actor seemed to condemn the manner in which they were presented to the actress. However, based on a later interview, it seemed that his ex’s current boyfriend, Harry Styles, factored into how the papers were served. Sudeikis said that he did not want the documents to be delivered at Styles’ home because the two children he and Olivia Wilde share, Daisy and Otis, might’ve been present. He also did not want his ex served at their kids’ school because other parents could’ve been in the vicinity. All in all, Sudeikis says that he “deeply regret[s] what happened.”
Still there’s another component to the CinemaCon snafu that seems to bother the Booksmart filmmaker. In the same interview with Variety, she expressed disdain for how the “nastiness” took attention away from the work of the many others who worked on the movie:
I hated that this nastiness distracted from the work of so many different people and the studio that I was up there representing. To try to sabotage that was really vicious. But I had a job to do; I’m not easily distracted.” She adds, “But, you know, sadly, it was not something that was entirely surprising to me. I mean, there’s a reason I left that relationship.
As of right now, Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis, who split in 2020 after a nine-year relationship, are in the midst of custody proceedings. While sources say that the two are not currently communicating directly, Sudeikis and Wilde are apparently working to co-parent and put their children first. In her interview, Wilde went on to discuss how the CinemaCon issue affects her kids and asserted that they were the true “victims” in the matter:
The only people who suffered were my kids, because they’ll have to see that, and they shouldn’t ever have to know that happened. For me, it was appalling, but the victims were an 8- and 5-year-old, and that’s really sad. I chose to become an actress; I willingly walked into the spotlight. But it’s not something my children have asked for. And when my kids are dragged into it, it’s deeply painful.
For the most part though, it seems that Olivia Wilde has moved on with Harry Styles, who she worked with on Don’t Worry Darling. Styles enjoyed being directed by Wilde, calling their time on set “wonderful” and making note of the trust they built between each other. The public will likely continue to watch how their purported relationship develops and will likely do the same when it comes to Wilde and Jason Sudeikis’ legal issues.
Don’t Worry Darling is set to open in theaters on September 23rd as part of the 2022 schedule of upcoming movies.