Florence Pugh & Shia LaBeouf ‘Vent’ About ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Drama In Leaked Text Messages
The drama continues...
Cubankite | DFree | Shutterstock Leaked texts between Florence Pugh and Shia LaBeouf show that the two had no bad blood — or were at least good at hiding it — following remarks made by Olivia Wilde that hinted at tensions between them.
The text exchanges between Pugh and LaBeouf were leaked to a Tumblr account and were allegedly sent during the early production process of 'Don't Worry Darling,' showing the two actors interacting in a friendly manner.
LaBeouf was originally cast opposite Pugh, the film's lead, before exiting the project. His role was later given to Harry Styles. After leaving the movie, LaBeouf was accused of abusing his ex-girlfriend, FKA Twigs.
The alleged texts between Shia LaBeouf and Florence Pugh appear to show they were on good terms.
In one of the texts from early July 2020, Pugh apologized to LaBeouf after not being able to attend one of the scheduled rehearsals for the film, telling him that her "friend died" and she was "doing a small memorial."
The texts appear to show that Pugh missed the "first meet and greet," and several subsequent rehearsals due to COVID-19 restrictions and other engagements.
In another text sent in late July 2020, Pugh reached out and asked LaBeouf how rehearsals went, to which the 'Transformers' actor responded: "Missed you."
"Just heard word about the shoot and don't know how I feel about it, can we vent tomorrow," Pugh texted LaBeouf in another exchange, that time in August 2020. In a follow-up text shortly after, Pugh expressed her concern over LaBeouf feeling as if she was scared of him.
"That's sad, where did you get me being scared of you from?" she wrote. "Don't be silly. I'm sorry that you feel that way."
Finally, on the same day that LaBeouf would reach out to Wilde and withdraw from her film, he texted Pugh about "bigger issues" regarding 'Don't Worry Darling.' Sources claimed that LaBeouf had reached out to Pugh after weeks of failed rehearsals and problems with the script.
The seemingly friendly text exchanges between Pugh and LaBeouf emerged shortly after Wilde had hinted at tensions between the two actors.
Olivia Wilde claimed Shia LaBeouf was fired to 'protect' Florence Pugh.
In an August 2022 Variety interview, Wilde spoke about her decision to fire LaBeouf from the film due to his "combative energy" and that she wanted to "protect" Pugh and make her feel "safe."
“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,” Wilde said.
However, following Wilde's interview, LaBeouf rebutted the claims that he was fired, providing emails, a video of Wilde, and text messages that revealed that he had quit the production on his own terms after feeling that he didn't have enough time to rehearse.
The video that Wilde sent to LaBeouf contradicted Wilde's statement to Variety and showed her telling LaBeouf that Pugh needed a "wake-up call" as she tried to convince him to stay on the project.
“You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us. If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace," Wilde said in the video.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.