Olivia Wilde is sticking by her decision to keep Florence Pugh instead of Shia LaBeouf on her much-talked about film “Don’t Worry Darling”.
The director chatted to Stephen Colbert on Wednesday’s “Late Show”, with the host not holding back as he questioned her on the numerous rumours surrounding the flick.
One of the questions was about LaBeouf being replaced by Harry Styles because he was unable to make it work with lead actress Pugh.
Wilde explained how early on in the process of making the film, “As the director, I tried to mediate a situation between people to see if they could work together happily.”
READ MORE: Shia LaBeouf Reacts Again To Olivia Wilde’s ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Claims
She told Colbert, “We had to replace Shia, he is a fantastic actor but it wasn’t going to work.”
LaBeouf has claimed he quit, but Wilde insisted he issued her an “ultimatum” and she “chose Florence” over him.
She shared, “At the time was I bummed that we weren’t able to make it work? Sure. Did information about him come to light later that made me confident we made the right decision? Absolutely.”
READ MORE: Olivia Wilde Addresses ‘Spitgate’ On ‘Late Show’, Insists Harry Styles ‘Did Not Spit On’ Chris Pine
During her “Late Show” interview, Wilde also discussed her alleged “feud” with Pugh, denying the rumours.
She told Colbert, “I have nothing but respect for Florence’s talent. She’s fantastic. She’s on the set of her movie ‘Dune’ right now. There’s nothing cooler than a busy actress. I have nothing against her for any reason.”
The host quipped, “People pointed out that she was having an Aperol Spritz during the press conference and didn’t show up for it,” referencing Pugh not attending the “Don’t Worry Darling” Venice Film Festival press conference.
Wilde replied, “They did point that out.
“I think what’s funny is like, I don’t feel like my male director colleagues are answering questions about their cast.”
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” airs weekdays at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on Global.
