Let’s get to the bottom of this once and for all. Did Olivia Wilde fire Shia LaBoeuf from Don’t Worry Darling or did he quit? This Vanity Fair profile of Wilde seems to indicate that it was kind of, well, both.
First, Wilde said—as she has before—that she fired LaBeouf after Florence Pugh complained about his on-set behavior. “My responsibility was towards her. I’m like a mother wolf. Making the call was tricky, but in a way he understood,” she said.
Then, LaBeouf presumably leaked the “Miss Flo” video that will not die, in which it sure sounds like Wilde is begging LaBeouf to stay and that Pugh was the real problem child here. (Confused? Check out our breakdown of events.) Now, Wilde says that version of events is missing some key nuance. “This issue is so much more nuanced than can be explained in private texts released out of context. All I’ll say is he was replaced, and there was no going forward with him. I wish him the best in his recovery,” she said.
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According to “a source with knowledge of the situation,” two things can be true at once. (What a concept!) Vanity Fair‘s insider asserts that a) the “Miss Flo” video was from before Pugh complained to Wilde about LaBeouf; b) Pugh really was uncomfortable with LaBeouf’s behavior; c) LaBeouf really was upset by a lack of rehearsal time with Pugh; and c) the whole thing ended with LaBeouf giving Wilde an ultimatum to choose between keeping him or keeping Pugh. It is possible Wilde simply let LaBeouf do a whole “You can’t fire me, I quit” routine to spare his ego.
Honestly, if I’m just speaking for myself, this seems like the most likely story of the bunch. But hey, I wasn’t there. What I do know is this. LaBeouf is alleged to have been abusive toward ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs, and issued an apology which she described as “gaslighting,” via Page Six. LaBeouf is also known to have made some pretty extravagant lies, like telling the press that Honey Boy was based on his own abusive father and later admitting that he made it all up, per Vanity Fair.
