Why is Florence Pugh skipping the Don’t Worry Darling Venice press conference? Reason behind absence explored amid ongoing drama

American actress Florence Pugh will not be attending the promotions of Don't Worry Darling at the Venice Film Festival due to her busy schedule. However, she will walk the red carpet for its premiere.

On September 4, news outlet Variety confirmed the news that the 26-year-old will be arriving in Venice later on via a private jet. The report added that Pugh will not be participating in the press conference of the film, scheduled to take place earlier that same day.

As per Deadline, Pugh will be arriving directly from Budapest, where she is currently shooting for Denis Villeneuve's upcoming directorial film Dune Part 2. She will attend the premiere of Don't Worry Darling, attend the photo call, and will return to Budapest the same day to resume shooting of Dune Part 2.

Besides Florence Pugh, Don't Worry Darling also stars Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, Chris Pine, Nick Kroll and Kiki Layne. It also has Olivia Wilde, who helmed the psychological thriller too.

Reportedly, Styles and Wilde, who are dating in real life, arrived in Italy on September 4.

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Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde are apparently tangled in a feud

Before Variety confirmed that Pugh won't attend the press conference due to her packed schedule, it was speculated that she and Olivia Wilde were at odds.

In July 2022, a source told Page Six that the Little Women actress was upset with Wilde for hooking up with Harry Styles. Pugh was upset because Wilde was still married to Jason Sudeikis before they officially split in November 2021.

In August 2022, Wilde told Variety that she fired Shia LaBeouf (who was earlier playing Harry Styles' part) in 2020 to create a "safe, trusting environment" on set for Florence Pugh.

"[H]is process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions. 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."

However, LaBeouf later denied being fired from the project, stating that he left the film because of not having enough rehearsal time. Olivia further hinted on to tensions that might be prevailing between Pugh and LaBeouf and said:

“I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo. If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace – and I respect your point of view, I respect hers – but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope?”

Olivia Wilde also rubbished rumors of having a feud with Florence Pugh, stating that it is nothing but “invented clickbait.” In fact, while talking to Interview magazine, Wilde heaped praise on Pugh and called her “ferociously talented”.

“She was so dogged in her pursuit of the most authentic version of every moment. She also knew that my real goal was to create a love story that felt so sincere between her and Harry that people would be incapable of not falling for them as a couple.”

Rumors about a feud between Wilde and Florence Pugh started building up after the latter uploaded only a few social media posts dedicated to the upcoming film.