In April, Wilde was served legal documents onstage at CinemaCon and calls the moment "vicious" and "upsetting."
Olivia Wilde is speaking out about the event that took place earlier this summer involving her ex and the father of her children, Jason Sudeikis. In April, during her appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Wilde was served papers by her ex regarding their custody battle over their two children.
In the moment, the 38-year-old actress remained calm, but now she’s reflecting on the public incident that she calls “upsetting.”
“It was my workplace,” Wilde tells Variety in a new interview.
“In any other workplace, it would be seen as an attack. It was really upsetting. It shouldn’t have been able to happen. There was a huge breach in security, which is really scary. The hurdles that you had to jump through to get into that room with several badges, plus special COVID tests that had to be taken days in advance, which gave you wristbands that were necessary to gain access to the event — this was something that required forethought,” she adds.
The moment came while Wilde was presenting her upcoming directorial effort, Don’t Worry Darling, to her peers, and the actress says that the move was disrespectful to all involved, not just her.
“I hated that this nastiness distracted from the work of so many different people and the studio that I was up there representing,” she says. “To try to sabotage that was really vicious. But I had a job to do; I’m not easily distracted.”
Wilde and Sudeikis were together from 2011 until 2020. The Booksmart director says the move from her former fiance wasn't a surprise.
“But, you know, sadly, it was not something that was entirely surprising to me,” she tells the publication. “I mean, there’s a reason I left that relationship.”
In Wilde’s eyes, she isn't the person who is going to be hurt the most by the Ted Lasso’s star’s move. It’s their children, Otis, 8, and Daisy, 5.
“The only people who suffered were my kids, because they’ll have to see that, and they shouldn’t ever have to know that happened,” she says.
“For me, it was appalling, but the victims were an 8- and 5-year-old, and that’s really sad. I chose to become an actress; I willingly walked into the spotlight. But it’s not something my children have asked for. And when my kids are dragged into it, it’s deeply painful,” she shares.
As for now dating 28-year-old Harry Styles, whom she cast in Don't Worry Darling, she remains consciously private about it.
"We both go out of our way to protect our relationship; I think it’s out of experience, but also just out of deep love," she says.
But she does talk about being criticized for it.
“The last two years, my family has gone through this kind of restructuring and a revolution that should be a totally personal experience. And it’s not," she reflects. "The most painful element of it has been women shaming me for making a decision that was for my own health and happiness.”
"When people see me not with my kids, it’s always ‘How dare she,’” she adds. “I’ve never seen anyone say that about a guy. And if he is with his kid, he’s a f**king hero.”
Meanwhile, Sudeikis and Wilde's contentious battle comes as Wilde would like to be based in Los Angeles and potentially London, where Styles resides. Sudeikis wants to live with his kids in Brooklyn.
In sealed court filings obtained by The Daily Mail, the director accused her children's father of malice with the highly public legal move.
"Jason's actions were clearly intended to threaten me and catch me off guard," Wilde reportedly says in the new documents. "He could have served me discreetly, but instead he chose to serve me in the most aggressive manner possible."
Sudeikis, however, said that he was unaware of the manner that the papers were served. A rep said at the time that Sudeikis "had no prior knowledge of the time or place that the envelope would have been delivered as this would solely be up to the process service company involved and he would never condone her being served in such an inappropriate manner."
In August, a source told ET that Wilde and Sudeikis have limited contact and communication with each other, and are solely focused on their children.
“Jason and Olivia have a very awkward relationship,” the source said at the time. “They try to limit any direct contact with each other, but they both want what's best for their kids. They are trying to sort out a manageable, stable and healthy co-parenting routine and schedule for the sake of their children.”
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