Harry Styles spitting on Chris Pine, Florence Pugh vs Olivia Wilde: Don't Worry Darling, we've got you

Fresh from the success of her directorial debut with 2019's Booksmart, Olivia Wilde's next feature, Don't Worry Darling, has generated quite the stir on the Internet, but probably not as anticipated.

Starring Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Black Widow) and Harry Styles (who has been steadily increasing his Hollywood presence) in leading roles, the film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival yesterday, September 5, and follows the story of a housewife as she starts to suspect that her husband is hiding disturbing secrets while living in an experimental community. 

Here’s the trailer for Don't Worry Darling:

Since its announcement, the psychological thriller has rumoured to have been through a wide range of disputes and quarrels over a variety of different reasons including recastings, on-set romances as well as wage gaps. 

Here’s a rundown of all we know about the Don’t Worry Darling feud:

July 2019: The film is announced, with Wilde speculated to direct and star in it.

Early 2020: Wilde parts ways with her partner and Ted Lasso star, Jason Sudeikis, having been together for nine years and had two children.

April 2020: The cast for the film is announced, with Florence Pugh set to star alongside Shia LaBeouf in the lead roles. Pugh is ecstatic to get to work with Wilde.

September 2020: Shia LaBeouf parts ways with the film for what is claimed to be “scheduling conflicts”. He is replaced with the pop icon and Dunkirk star Harry Styles.

December 2020: LaBeouf is sued by his former partner FKA Twigs for sexual battery and assualt. He denies every claim. 

January 2021: Rumours begin to surface about Wilde and Styles's romantic involvement. 

February 2021: The film wraps production. Wilde’s remarks on Styles’s performance draws criticism for taking away from Pugh’s role in the film. Pugh also remarks on everyone’s contribution in a social media post, but does not mention Wilde’s name. 

Theories began to surface online that Pugh was distraught over the on-set romance between Styles and Wilde, and lacked professionalism during production. 

April 2022: Wilde is served custody papers from Jason Sudeikis while onstage introducing the film in front of a crowd.

August 24, 2022: Amid rumours of apparent pay disparities between the two leads, Wilde quashes these claims and denies speculation that Styles had been paid three times as much as Pugh in wages. 

August 24, 2022: Wilde claims she fired Shia LaBeouf from the production to make sure Pugh felt safe in her work environment.

August 26, 2022: LaBeouf denies Wilde’s claims entirely, stating that he left production only because he did not find time to rehearse. He also leaks messages and videos between the two of them in which Wilde is apparently “heartbroken” over his exit.

September 5, 2022: The cast and crew of Don’t Worry Darling arrive at the Venice premiere but rumour has it that Pugh would not be attending the press conference for the film, citing scheduling conflicts for the sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. 

Wilde addresses the all these rumours at the conference saying,

She also added,

September 5, 2022: In group photos at the red carpet event, co-star Chris Pine strategically placed himself between Olivia and Florence, while Sydney Chandler conveniently stood between Olivia and Harry.

Meanwhile, the internet seems to be having a field day surrounding Chris Pine unwillingly being dragged into the middle of this drama, with many noting that he seems to have dissociated from the mess altogether.

However, tensions seem to have escalated, with the latest video doing its rounds on the Internet showcasing Harry Styles seemingly spitting at Pine before taking his seat at the film’s premiere, ostensibly for having seated himself between Wilde and Styles at the event.

And though no publicity is said to be bad publicity, the film has been panned by critics and audience alike in the hours since its premiere, currently holding a 38% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

For those still curious and way too invested in the drama that has enveloped this film: Don't worry, darling - the film is slated for a September 30, 2022 theatrical release.