Olivia Wilde Says Being Served Custody Papers Onstage Was “Vicious,” Her Children “Suffered”

Olivia Wilde is opening up about the much-publicised interruption of her CinemaCon presentation earlier this year. While speaking about her upcoming film “Don’t Worry Darling” on stage at the convention in April, the director was reportedly served with papers from her ex Jason Sudeikis, involving the custody of their shared children. In a cover interview for Variety published on Aug. 24, Wilde addressed the “really upsetting” incident at what she described as her workplace and revealed further details about how it happened and the end of her relationship with Sudeikis, although he was not named.

“I hated that this nastiness distracted from the work of so many different people and the studio that I was up there representing,” she said. “To try to sabotage that was really vicious. But I had a job to do; I’m not easily distracted. . . . But, you know, sadly, it was not something that was entirely surprising to me. I mean, there’s a reason I left that relationship.”

She continued, sharing that it was “deeply painful” for her kids with Sudeikis, 8-year-old Otis and 5-year-old Daisy, to get dragged into their custody battle. “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 said. “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.”

The “Don’t Worry Darling” director also claimed that the decision to serve her at the convention “required forethought,” as there were many restrictions to get into the event. “In any other workplace, it would be seen as an attack,” she said, adding, “It shouldn’t have been able to happen. There was a huge breach in security, which is really scary.”

At the time of the incident, a source close to Sudeikis told People that the “Ted Lasso” star “had no prior knowledge of the time or place that the envelope would have been delivered,” though Wilde claimed otherwise. Wilde filed a request to dismiss Sudeikis’s custody petition in August, which was later granted.

In the interview, Wilde also spoke about her public dating life amid the ongoing custody battle and her current romance with Harry Styles, revealing “the most painful element of it has been women shaming me for making a decision that was for my own health and happiness.” She added, “When people see me not with my kids, it’s always ‘How dare she.’ I’ve never seen anyone say that about a guy. And if he is with his kid, he’s a f*cking hero.”

Reps for Sudeikis did not immediately respond to POPSUGAR’s request for comment.