Olivia Wilde Says She Didn't Intend to 'Throw Myself into the Flames' for Don't Worry Darling Publicity

Cass Bird/ELLE Olivia Wilde for ELLE

It's been three weeks since Don't Worry Darling hit theaters, and Olivia Wilde is getting candid about how the film — and the drama surrounding it — has affected her.

Wilde, who both directed and stars in the thriller, often found herself in the eye of its months-long media firestorm, which she said was far from intentional.

In an interview for ELLE's 2022 Women in Hollywood issue, the 38-year-old filmmaker says that she never meant to "throw myself into the flames for the movie."

"This film is trying to ask big questions, but [it's] 'Let's just focus on this sideshow over here,' " Wilde said. "Having been a known figure for a while … makes me well-equipped to have a Teflon exterior. But it also means that you're under a different kind of microscope."

The star added that the situation has brought her attention to how the media "pits women against one another."

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Cass Bird/ELLE Olivia Wilde for ELLE

RELATED: Olivia Wilde Says She and Florence Pugh "Worked Very Well Together" on Don't Worry Darling

During Don't Worry Darling's press tour, Wilde and the film's leading lady, Florence Pugh, have faced rumors of a feud.

However, the actress and Booksmart director seconded comments that Pugh, 26, has made about the film's intense publicity run to ELLE.

"It is shocking to see so many untruths about yourself traded as fact," she said. "Florence had a really wise comment that we didn't sign up for a reality show."

"And I love that she put it that way, because it's as though the general public feels that if you are making something that you're selling to the public, you somehow have accepted that your life will be torn to shreds by a pack of wolves," Wilde added. "No, that's actually not part of the job description. Never was."

"[Florence is] so generous in her acting in every scene," Wilde told ELLE. "She makes everyone around her better."

RELATED VIDEO: A Complete Timeline of the Don't Worry Darling Drama

"When Florence pointed that out, that this film is so much bigger and better than just the sex scenes, I was so happy that she said that because I feel the same way," she added.

In the interview, Wilde also got candid about how the increased publicity she has received as a result of Don't Worry Darling has led to an increase in criticism of her parenting abilities.

"If I'm photographed not with my kids, people assume I have abandoned them, like my kids are just somewhere in a hot car without me," said Wilde, who shares custody of daughter Daisy, 6, and son Otis, 8, with ex Jason Sudeikis.

She added, "The suggestion is that I have abandoned my role as a mother. You know why you don't see me with my kids? Because I don't let them get photographed. Do you know the lengths that I go to to protect my kids from being seen by you?"