Olivia Wilde has opened up about how the reaction to a viral red carpet video that prompted trolls to compare her to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings really made her feel.
Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday, Olivia, 42, discussed the clip and images that began circulating online back in May after she appeared at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
She looked almost unrecognisable and gaunt in the clip and subsequently blamed the camera’s distorting fisheye lens while also acknowledging that it didn’t show her in the best light.
During the podcast interview, Alex brought it up, saying: ‘So… 2026… this year you go on a red carpet… Olivia…’.
Immediately knowing what she was referring to, Olivia began laughing then said: ‘I’m so happy you’re bringing this up… I was looking like an actual dead body!
‘I looked like… are you too young for Tales From The Crypt? Well there was a dead sarcophagus man in that… I looked like that.
Olivia Wilde has opened up about how the reaction to a viral red carpet video that prompted trolls to compare her to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings really made her feel
Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday, Olivia, 42, discussed the clip and images that began circulating online back in May after she appeared at the San Francisco International Film Festival
‘It was absolutely insane! I saw the picture and I was like, “oh that won’t go very far”, and then suddenly it went f***ing everywhere. We all have bad photos taken but then imagine it being on one hundred million phones. And that’s not how I actually look!
‘But this is the thing about having really good friends. They are the ones that laugh the hardest. Any joke that has been made about me – my friends have made it first and been funnier about it. We had to laugh!
‘People thought I was sick and dying, people were diagnosing me with diseases, Megyn Kelly did a whole segment about it and how dead I looked. It was undeniably hilarious but also insane.
‘You have to learn to laugh at this stuff…’.
The viral film festival video was viewed more than ten million times, and many took to social media to express dismay at the time.
One user wrote on X: ‘First, Angelina Jolie showed up looking like the ghost of her former self, and now Olivia Wilde looks like she has been overdoing the GLP-1s. What is happening to these actresses?’
Another asked: ‘What the hell is going on in Hollywood at the moment?’
At the event, Wilde looked chic in a simple, tailored white T-shirt, with her hair tied back with a bow.
The American star was compared to Gollum, even by her own brother, after the red carpet appearance.
At the time she shared an Instagram Stories video writing: ‘Leave it to your little brother to give you the maximum amount of s***.’
She looked almost unrecognisable and gaunt in the clip and subsequently blamed the camera’s distorting fisheye lens while also acknowledging that it didn’t show her in the best light
‘I don’t know why I was so close to the camera; I didn’t have to be,’ Wilde said while laughing off the gaffe in a subsequent Instagram video
Wilde was at the event to promote her latest project, The Invite. She directed and stars in the film alongside Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton
‘I don’t know why I was so close to the camera; I didn’t have to be,’ she said while laughing off the gaffe.
‘Do you have any more questions?’ she asked younger sibling Charlie Cockburn, who was heard laughing. Olivia then declared: ‘I’m not dead.’
The snippet started with Charlie asking: ‘Olivia Wilde, do you care to address recent rumors that you’re a resurrected corpse?’
The Booksmart director was relaxing outdoors in a grey hoodie and dark jacket, and she wrapped herself up in a blanket in the recording.
She giggled at her brother’s taunting remarks while wearing a baseball cap and pulling the hood of her sweatshirt over her head.
Wilde was at the event to promote her latest project, The Invite.
She directed and stars in the film alongside Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton.
The movie, produced by A24, tells the story of a dinner party gone wrong.
It was co-written with Rashida Jones and is slated for release on June 26.
The official trailer was released on April 7, with Wilde teasing on Instagram one day prior: ‘Trailer tomorrowowowow.’
The following day, A24 shared the teaser on social media with the caption, ‘Everything is on the table.
‘THE INVITE, a hilariously unpredictable new comedy directed by and starring Olivia Wilde, with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton.’
