Jason Is “Very, Very Sorry” About Olivia Receiving Custody Papers On-Stage
She said he tried to “embarrass” and “threaten” her.
Olivia Wilde finally responded to that supremely awkward moment back in April when she was publicly served custody papers from her ex, Jason Sudeikis. ICYMI, the director was on-stage at CinemaCon, presenting her film Don’t Worry Darling, when she was interrupted by a not-so-welcome delivery: documents regarding the arrangements for their children, Otis, 8, and Daisy, 5. At the time, a source said that Sudeikis would “never condone her being served in such an inappropriate manner.” but it doesn’t sound like Wilde is buying it. On Aug. 10, she responded to Sudeikis publicly delivering custody papers — and she was understandably not too happy about the sitch.
In a filing, obtained by Us Weekly, Wilde called the move an “outrageous legal tactic.” Per the outlet, Wilde claimed, “Jason’s actions were clearly intended to threaten me and catch me off guard. He could have served me discreetly, but instead he chose to serve me in the most aggressive manner possible.”
The filing continued, “The fact that Jason would embarrass me professionally and put our personal conflict on public display in this manner is extremely contrary to our children’s best interests. Since Jason has made it clear that we will not be able to work this out for our children’s sake outside of the court system, I filed a petition for custody in Los Angeles.” Brutal.
So did Sudeikis plan this humiliating moment? A source close to the situation claimed that the Ted Lasso star was in the dark. “Papers were drawn up to establish jurisdiction relating to the children of Ms. Wilde and Mr. Sudeikis,” the insider claimed to People in April. “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 continues.
On Aug. 10, the Daily Mail obtained Sudeikis’ response to Wilde’s claims. And based on these court documents, it sounds like he never wanted her to be served in that manner — he just didn’t want her to be served at Harry’s House, either. “I did not want service to take place at the home of Olivia’s current partner because Otis and Daisy might be present,” he wrote. “I did not want service to take place at the children’s school because parents might be present.”
That said, he reportedly never thought it would happen on-stage. “I understand that the process server had only done her job; however, I deeply regret what happened. Olivia’s talk was an important event for Olivia, both professionally and personally, and I am very, very sorry that the incident marred her special moment,” the filing continued.
OK, but why serve her in the first place? Apparently, Sudeikis worried about Wilde limiting his access to their children. “First, Olivia said that if I did not reside full-time in Los Angeles, she would allow me to spend time with Otis and Daisy on weekends and during vacation periods — thus depriving me of my right to parent the children during important periods of their lives,” Sudeikis claimed. “Second, Olivia said that she intended to relocate with the children to London following the close of school in 2023.” (Um, Styles’ lyric, “Leave America, two kids follow her,” might not have helped matters.)
Wilde and Sudeikis have a long history together — though it never used to be quite so dramatic. The couple split up in November 2020, breaking off their seven-year engagement. In January 2021, Wilde was spotted holding hands with Harry Styles at a wedding, and the singer-director duo has reportedly been together ever since. Although there’s no telling how anyone would react after being dumped for Styles, I can imagine there might be some hard feelings, and this custody battle seems like proof.
For the sake of their children (and their future custody arrangement), I hope that Wilde and Sudeikis are able to work things out — off-stage, this time.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include Sudeikis’ response to Wilde’s filing.
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