Olivia Wilde gives speech about ‘the burning hellfire’ of misogyny after nanny drama

Olivia Wilde won’t be “easily manipulated,” thank you very much.

On Monday, hours after slamming “scurrilous” claims from her kids’ nanny about her relationship with Harry Styles and split from Jason Sudeikis, Wilde took the stage at the Elle Women in Hollywood event, at which she was an honoree, and talked about “fighting through the hellfire” of Hollywood sexism, which she said fueled the Don’t Worry Darling drama.

Olivia Wilde talked about “fighting through the hellfire” of Hollywood sexism. (Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images for ELLE)

“These opportunities like tonight, to gather as women, are crucial,” Wilde told the crowd at Getty Center in Los Angeles. “They’re extremely impactful. They offer us a chance to look into each other’s eyes and say, ‘Keep going.’ Because, let’s face it, it’s not always easy to keep going. In fact, sometimes it’s tempting to excuse ourselves from the burning hellfire of the misogyny that defines this business and say, ‘Good night, good luck, I’d rather eat glass for a living.’ But we won’t let each other give up.”

Wilde, who directed and starred in DWD, which was plagued with rumors and gossip but opened at No. 1, said she recently had “several opportunities to personally experience this power of encouragement from other women in this business. It often takes the form of a tight grip of your shoulders and an intense stare into your eyes and a defiant ‘Do not let them f*** with you.’ And it’s always really tempting to reply, ‘Well, if I didn’t know things were bad before, I do now.’ Just kidding; it’s always very much appreciated.”

Olivia Wilde attends the 29th Annual ELLE Women in Hollywood Celebration at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. (Photo: REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci)

She called those moments “profound” because they’re an “honest acknowledgement of a constant battle we are all fighting, in which we are allies.” And “no matter how much the patriarchy relies on us to cut each other down in order to weaken our collective power, we have to resist the urge to play by their self-serving rules. Remind the world — and specifically our daughters — that we aren’t so easily manipulated.”

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Wilde jokingly questioned if she would have still pursued her career in the business 20 years ago had she known “Twitter would be invented.” However, she said she has “undeniably the greatest job on the planet.” She said the event made her feel “energized” and “motivated to keep fighting through the hellfire. In some ways, the challenges are all a part of it, right? Real badges of honor, par for the course. Let’s face it: You are not a woman in Hollywood until you’ve begged to be placed into a medically induced coma until your press tour is finished.”

Just before the event, Wilde and Sudeikis, who share children Otis, 8, and Daisy, 6, issued a rare joint statement slamming “false” claims in an interview their former nanny gave the Daily Mail.

“As parents, it is incredibly upsetting to learn that a former nanny of our two young children would choose to make up such false and scurrilous accusations about us publicly,” the former couple — who hadn’t been on speaking terms since their split and custody battle — said. “This is the unfortunate apex of a now, 18-month-long campaign of harassing us, as well as our loved ones, close friends and colleagues. We will continue to focus on raising and protecting our children with the sincere hope that she will now choose to leave our family alone.”

One of their former nannies, whose name was not revealed, claimed that the Ted Lasso actor “was out of control crying” after finding messages on Wilde’s Apple Watch in November 2020 revealing that Wilde was having an affair with Styles, whom she cast in Don’t Worry Darling. The employee claimed Sudeikis “went outside and lay under [Wilde’s] car so she wouldn’t leave.” The person also said Sudeikis was upset after seeing Wilde prepare a salad for Styles with her “special dressing” in the family’s kitchen. The nanny claimed Sudeikis banned them from playing any of Styles’s music after the split.

Wilde and Sudeikis began dating in 2011, were engaged for several years, and then it was reported that they split in November 2020. However, Wilde said in September that it’s a “complete horseshit” that she “left Jason for Harry…. Our relationship was over long before I met Harry. Like any relationship that ends, it doesn’t end overnight… We officially dissolved the relationship towards the beginning of the pandemic. We were raising two kids during lockdown, so we co-parented through that time. Once it became clear that cohabitating was no longer beneficial for the children, it became the responsible thing to not, because we could be better parents as friends who live in different houses.”

Wilde went public with the ““Watermelon Sugar” singer in early 2021. Things with Sudeikis have been contentious, including when he served Wilde legal papers when she was in the middle of giving a presentation about Don’t Worry Darling at CinemaCon in April.

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