Olivia Wilde recalled meeting Elon Musk before his political associations with the Trump administration. In a wide-ranging interview with The Louis Theroux Podcast, the director-actress discussed the Tesla CEO, misogyny, and how her films examine relationships and intimacy.
When looking back at her 2022 film Don’t Worry Darling, Wilde said that conservative commentator Jordan Peterson was an inspiration for Chris Pine’s character. While Wilde said it may have been “unfair” for her to call Peterson a “pseudo-intellectual,” she was “disturbed by what I saw as this kind of misogynistic philosophy that was being obviously weaponized in a way that was leading us to elect Donald Trump twice.”
The filmmaker linked the movie’s themes of men who believe they are “more powerful than nature” to deep-rooted misogyny today. Wilde suggested that Musk follows this way of thinking and referenced his “underpopulation crisis” obsession.
Wilde then shared that she met the Tesla CEO “before he turned into this creature,” adding, “I really resent him now, I really deeply resent him.”
She recalled meeting him “many, many years ago” when his company, SpaceX, had just established their headquarters in Los Angeles. “I got to go on a tour because I wanted to see the rocket ships. And he was interested in donating money to an organization that I was a part of in Haiti that was building hospitals and schools,” she said. “He was quite interested in donating money, and, I believe he did donate a little bit of money, and that’s appreciated.”
At the time, Wilde said she “was kind of confused by him,” before stating, “I never would’ve predicted that he would go the path that he’s gone now because he did seem really smart.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Wilde and Theroux discussed her acclaimed new comedy, The Invite. Wilde detailed how her film explores the expectations of desire within a marriage and pointed out a scene between her character and Seth Rogen, who plays her husband.
“He says, ‘You’re supposed to want me.’ And it’s very sad, and I think that people are familiar with that feeling. You’re supposed to want me. You married me, and that makes me feel entitled to you being attracted to me,'” said Wilde. “I mean, woah, does that veer into the manosphere incel conversation.”
Wilde continued, “You are entitled to the love of your parents, I do believe that. I think that as children, children don’t need to earn affection from their parents. It should be completely unconditional.” However, “that is a familial thing, it is not something that should exist between couples.”
When stopping by the Rolling Stone Studio earlier this month, Wilde delved into the realm of intimacy that The Invite cracks open and Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex, which stars Wilde and hits theaters on July 31.
