Olivia Wilde was left stunned after she was served custody papers by the father of her children Jason Sudeikis while she was live on stage at CinemaCon 2022. The 38-year-old actress was at the center of a presentation for her film 'Don't Worry Darling' in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, when she received the legal filings from former lover Sudeikis.
That the event wasn't staged was evident from the way Wilde reacted after being handed over the envelope by a server who tracked her down all the way to Las Vegas. According to reports, the idea to serve her the papers on stage was that of Sudeikis' lawyers and he was unaware of their plans.
Rude Shock
Wilde was in the middle of a presentation for her film 'Don't Worry Darling' when her speech was interrupted by an unidentified person who approached from the audience and handed over a manila envelope to her. "This is for me?" Wilde asked on stage, suggesting that the moment was not staged.
However, the director appeared unconcerned when she examined the contents of the package, and it was unknown at the time what the envelope contained.
It was later revealed that the lawyers of Sudeikis had hired a process server to deliver the important documents to Wilde regarding their two young children. Sudeikis is best known for his starring role in Apple TV+ series 'Ted Lasso.'
According to sources cited by Deadline, the manila package delivered on stage included custody papers from the 46-year-old Emmy winner
And according to Variety, Sudeikis was unaware that Wilde would be served the papers in such a public and humiliating manner. Currently, the actress is dating Harry Styles.
"Papers were drawn up to establish jurisdiction relating to the children of Ms. Wilde and Mr. Sudeikis," the source told Variety.
Not Planned
Wilde continued without blinking after opening the documents, showing a trailer for the film she made, featuring her boyfriend Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, to thunderous applause from the audience.
"Mr. Sudeikis had no prior knowledge of the time or place that the envelope would have been delivered as this would solely be up to the process service company involved and he would never condone her being served in such an inappropriate manner," the source told the publication.
The documents were initially claimed to be an unsolicited script given by a fan in the hopes of catching Wilde's attention.
CinemaCon also said in a statement that in light of the occurrence, it will reevaluate its security measures, although it did not elaborate on how the individual gained access to the stage or the contents of the parcel.
Wilde, 38, and Sudeikis, 46, split in November 2020 after seven years together. They were engaged and co-parent son Otis, 8 and 5-year-old daughter Daisy. Wilde and Sudeikis have been tight-lipped about their current custody arrangement, and neither has commented on the contents of the package.
Attendees and media were intrigued by the contents of the package at the time, with some even questioning if she had been "served" with a subpoena to appear in court.
Sudeikis' kids are with him while he shoots the next season of Apple TV's "Ted Lasso."
Sudeikis has been open about his terrible breakup with Wilde, telling GQ that he had "hit rock bottom" during the split. In March 2021, he honored her at the Critics Choice Awards, praising her for coming up with the idea to transform "Ted Lasso" into a program. Wilde, in turn, congratulated her ex-boyfriend and his crew on Twitter.