Olivia Wilde Is a Bit Tired of Everyone's Ageism
The actress and director tore into people criticizing her relationship with a younger guy.
It seems like all eyes have been on Olivia Wilde since her 2022 film Don’t Worry Darling met a PR thunderstorm during its promotion. Wilde met her current boyfriend Harry Styles on set and there have been constant rumors swirling about their relationship and the frustrations allegedly experienced by the film’s other star, Florence Pugh. It all culminated with what might be one of the most tense premieres in the Venice Film Festival’s history.
In an interview for Elle’s November 2022 cover story, Wilde was very clear that she’s sick of the scrutiny, and this interview was conducted before this situation even reached its apex.
“Florence [Pugh] had a really wise comment that we didn’t sign up for a reality show,” said Wilde. “And I love that she put it that way, because it’s as though the general public feels that if you are making something that you’re selling to the public, you somehow have accepted that your life will be torn to shreds by a pack of wolves. No, that’s actually not part of the job description. Never was.”
One thing that particularly annoys her is the way her parenting is scrutinized to a level she thinks no male celeb would be subjected to. Wilde shares her children Otis and Daisy with her ex, Jason Sudeikis, who she split with in 2020. The Ted Lasso star infamously served Wilde with papers over custody while she was on stage at CinemaCon. Wilde has been criticized for being out without her kids in public photos since they broke up.
“I share custody of my kids with my ex,” she said. “People assume I have abandoned my kids, like my kids are just somewhere in a hot car without me...The suggestion is that I have abandoned my role as a mother.”
But she says people don’t see her with her kids because she “doesn’t let them get photographed.”
“Do you know the lengths that I go to to protect my kids from being seen by you?” she added.
The publication also asked Wilde about ageism. The 38-year-old is ten years older than Styles, an age gap that probably wouldn’t be remarked upon if their genders were reversed. Wilde doesn’t dive into that double standard, but she does have something to say about ageism generally.
“It’s so interesting for me when that comes from women because I’m like, ‘Do you plan on not getting older? Or if you already are older, do you feel that you don’t deserve the same opportunities in life?’” she said. “It’s so sad to me to look at that and realize people have such small expectations for their own lives and they are projecting those expectations onto me. And I reject your projections.”
