Olivia Wilde recently told the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that Pamela Anderson helped her through the release of her 2022 film “Don’t Worry Darling,” which was plagued with rumors of disarray in the director’s personal and professional life.
“I actually learned this from — this sounds so crazy,” Wilde said. “But after I saw the documentary [‘Pamela, A Love Story’] I reached out to her, and I was like, ‘Yo, respect. Just want to say big fan.’”
Wilde remembered that Anderson was “aware of some of the shit that I was going through,” and told her in the face of public scrutiny, “The most rebellious thing you can do is stay soft. Don’t let it harden you.”
Anderson, who had her own fair share of scandals throughout her career, was, in some ways, able to reclaim her narrative through the release of Netflix’s “Pamela, A Love Story.” It hit the streamer about four months after “Don’t Worry Darling” came to theaters.
“It was so hard, because I wanted to be like, ‘Can I just talk to people? Can I just go and say, ‘That’s not true! That’s not true!’” Wilde recalled. “And it was like, ‘No, that won’t help.’ And that was really hard.”
Read more Why Horror Film ‘Leviticus’ Is Summer’s Most Surprising Love Story
Wilde said staying quiet was especially difficult because she wanted to promote the film on behalf of her cast and crew.
“I was like, ‘It’s not about me. It’s about this movie that everyone works so hard to make,’” Wilde explained. “And I felt like I was working on behalf of hundreds of people who had worked through Covid to make something really difficult.”
“I felt frustrated that I couldn’t defend myself, but it also felt like, ‘Okay, it’s not about you. Just get the movie out,’” she added. “And the pummeling that I took was so insanely disproportionate.”
Read more Box Office: ‘Toy Story 5’ Soars to $71 Million on Opening Day