Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde were spotted enjoying a casual date night in New York City on Friday amid the ongoing controversy surrounding their new movie Don’t Worry Darling, which was released in cinemas that day.
The musician, 28, and the director, 38, appeared to be still very much in love as they gazed into each other’s eyes during their dinner date at a Mexican restaurant.
Just one night earlier they had been seen passionately kissing on the streets of New York, putting rest to the rumors that their romance was on the rocks.
Look of love: Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde were spotted enjoying a casual date night in New York City on Friday amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Don’t Worry Darling
Thursday was the first time the couple had been seen acting affectionate towards each other in public after weeks of keeping their distance while promoting the drama-riddled project, which sees Harry star opposite lead actress Florence Pugh.
Olivia has faced mounting controversies around the film, amid fresh reports that she fell out with Florence, 26, who was allegedly angered by Olivia’s relationship with Harry getting in the way of making the movie.
It also comes as the director continues her custody war with ex Jason Sudeikis, with whom she shares two children; Otis, eight, and Daisy, five. Olivia’s daughter also appears in the film in a cameo role.
All that sweet affection: The musician, 28, and the director, 38, appeared to be still very much in love as they gazed into each other’s eyes during their Friday dinner date
Look of love: Just one night earlier they had been seen passionately kissing on the streets of New York, putting paid to the rumors that their romance was on the rocks
With too much focus on Olivia’s romantic relationship with Harry, the pair had previously been keeping their distance when promoting the film – only appearing together in group cast shots at premieres in Venice and more recently New York.
The One Direction alum, who has drawn attention for his gender-fluid photo-shoots in the past, accessorized his look with a hairclip while out with Olivia on Friday.
Olivia has been facing down a deluge of scandals surrounding Don’t Worry Darling, including persistent rumors that she feuded on set with Florence.
Backdrop: With too much focus on Olivia’s romantic relationship with Harry, the pair had previously been keeping their distance when promoting the film
A report in Page Six claimed Florence took issue with Olivia for supposedly taking up with Harry while still engaged to Jason Sudeikis.
Olivia, who has two children with Jason, has staunchly denied cheating on him with Harry and has slammed rumors of her infidelity as ‘complete horses***.’
Now an on set source has told Vulture that Florence and Olivia erupted into a ‘screaming match’ during the shoot because the director had a tendency to ‘just disappear’ with Harry.
Snappy: The One Direction alum, who has drawn attention for his gender-fluid photo-shoots in the past, accessorized his look with a hairclip while out with Olivia on Friday
Florence has scarcely done any media for Don’t Worry Darling, resulting in the initial round of rumors that she had a rift with her director.
She then sent the feud speculation into overdrive when she suddenly pulled out of a press conference for Don’t Worry Darling at the Venice Film Festival this month.
Although Florence withdrew from the presser last minute, she did manage to attend the movie’s red carpet premiere at the film festival later that day.
Olivia appeared on Stephen Colbert’s late-night show this week and denied having bad blood with her ‘sensational’ leading lady, whom she hailed as a ‘superhero.’
The movie is finally here: Thoroughly eclipsed by its behind-the-scenes gossip, the movie has been rejected by the critics to the tune of a crushing 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
She blamed sexism for the conjecture, arguing that her ‘male director colleagues’ were not ‘answering’ questions about their equation with their actors.
‘I have nothing but respect for Florence’s talent. She’s fantastic,’ Olivia maintained. ‘I have nothing against her for any reason.’
On the day of the movie’s release Florence posted an Instagram tribute to ‘all of you who helped make’ Don’t Worry Darling.
Although she neglected to mention Olivia by name in her caption, she did include a picture of them together in her wide-ranging Instagram album from the shoot.
Hand in hand: Olivia and Harry are pictured enjoying a romantic stroll through London’s Soho neighborhood this March
Another one of Don’t Worry Darling’s scandals involved Shia LaBeouf, who was supposed to be the leading man of the film before Harry took over.
Olivia initially claimed that she fired Shia because of her ‘no a**hole policy,’ saying is process was ‘not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions.’
Shia, who is currently being accused of abuse by his ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs, shot back by declaring that he quit because of a ‘lack of rehearsal time.’
He addressed his side of the story by leaking an email he sent Olivia – as well as video footage of her trying to persuade him not to leave the movie.
‘I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and I, too, am heartbroken and I want to figure this out,’ the director said in the video.
Drama: Olivia has been facing down a deluge of scandals surrounding Don’t Worry Darling, including rumors that she feuded on set with her leading lady Florence Pugh (pictured)
‘You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us,’ Olivia added.
‘If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace – and I respect your point of view, I respect hers – but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope? Will you let me know?’
On the Colbert show this week, Olivia doubled down on her claim that she fired Shia, saying he forced her to choose between him and Florence.
‘We had to replace Shia. He is a fantastic actor, but it wasn’t gonna work. When he gave me the ultimatum of, you know, him or Florence, I chose Florence,’ she said.
‘Thank you’: On the day of the movie’s release Florence posted an Instagram tribute to ‘all of you who helped make’ Don’t Worry Darling
According to Olivia’s version of events: ‘That was him feeling he was stepping away and me feeling like we were moving on without him.’
The original screenplay of Don’t Worry Darling was written by Dick Van Dyke’s grandsons Carey and Shane Van Dyke.
When Olivia assumed control of the project, she had it rewritten by Katie Silberman, one of the writers of her directorial debut Booksmart.
Harry and Florence star in the new film as a couple living a Stepfordesque existence in the 1950s – only for her to discover her tranquil life has been concealing a dark secret.
Embattled: Another one of Don’t Worry Darling’s scandals involved Shia LaBeouf, who was supposed to be the leading man of the film before Harry took over