Olivia Wilde 'deeply' resents Elon Musk after his political shift, says he 'turned into a creature'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Olivia Wilde is not holding back when it comes to her opinion of Elon Musk. During a candid appearance on 'The Louis Theroux' Podcast, the actress and filmmaker reflected on meeting the SpaceX CEO years ago, before his political comments, and admitted she "deeply" resents the person he has become.
While promoting her latest film 'The Invite', Wilde also spoke about "incel" culture and how it shaped her storytelling. She said the tycoon was different "before he turned into a creature."
The director also revisited the controversy surrounding 'Don't Worry Darling', revealing that author and commentator Jordan Peterson inspired Chris Pine's negative character.
Olivia Wilde slams Elon Musk's transformation
During the interview, 'The Invite' director said, “I really resent him now. I really deeply resent him,” Wilde said. “I met him many, many years ago. I think SpaceX had just built their headquarters in LA and I got to go on a tour because I wanted to see the rocket ships."
"He was interested in donating money to an organization that I was a part of in Haiti that was building hospitals and schools," she added.
"I believe he did donate a little bit of money, and that’s appreciated. I was confused by him. I would never have predicted he would go down the path he has gone down. He did seem really smart," she continued.
Olivia Wilde says Elon Musk is a "creature" and "I deeply resent him,” years after they met at SpaceX headquarters: "I would never have predicted he would go down the path he has gone down. He did seem really smart."
— Variety (@Variety) July 22, 2026
Wilde also spoke out on incel culture: "There is a large,… pic.twitter.com/AZyWt3rjEG
The filmmaker said Musk embodies that mentality by “talking about how we don’t have enough people and the world is underpopulated and we could handle another billion people."
She pointed to his comments about population, saying he is “talking about how we don’t have enough people and the world is underpopulated and we could handle another billion people.” Musk has often said he believes the world's falling birth rates are a bigger problem than global warming.
Olivia Wilde addresses 'Don't Worry Darling' backlash
In the same podcast, Wilde also looked back at the backlash she faced during the 'Don't Worry Darling' press tour in 2022 after revealing that Chris Pine's villainous character was inspired by author and commentator Jordan Peterson. According to Wilde, Peterson is “this pseudo-intellectual hero to the incel community.”
Her remarks sparked widespread debate, and Peterson later became emotional during an interview with Piers Morgan while responding to Wilde's comments.
Explaining what she meant, Wilde described incels as “disenfranchised, mostly white men. And they believe that society has now robbed them, that the idea of feminism is working against nature, and that we must be put back into the correct place.”
Wilde said she was shocked by that perspective and argued that men already receive plenty of encouragement from society. She told Theroux, “‘Lack of an encouraging word’ is so absurd."
"There is a large, booming world of encouragement happening at all times for these men, which is: ‘This world is yours and you are entitled to it.’ That’s deeply ingrained in our society. This idea they need a reminder of encouragement and deserve more is ludicrous.”