Olivia Wilde has responded to a viral red carpet video that prompted trolls to compare her to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.
The 42-year-old actress recently appeared at the San Francisco International Film Festival looking wide-eyed and gaunt in a clip shared online, sparking concern among her fanbase.
Now the filmmaker is blaming her jarring appearance on the camera’s distorting fisheye lens, and acknowledging it didn’t show her in the best light.
She shared a video via Instagram Stories on Saturday and wrote across the clip, ‘Leave it to your little brother to give you the maximum amount of s***.’
‘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 out of the camera’s frame. Wilde then declared, ‘I’m not dead.’
Olivia Wilde has responded to a viral red carpet video that prompted trolls to compare her to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings; pictured on April 18
Wilde’s latest public appearance sparked conversation online as a clip of her wide-eyed, gaunt face at the San Francisco International Film Festival went viral
The snippet started with Cockburn 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 while wearing a baseball cap and pulling the hood of her sweatshirt over her head.
The viral film festival video has been viewed more than ten million times, and many took to social media to express dismay.
One person 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?’
Someone else 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.
She added a billowy black satin skirt with an asymmetric hemline and short train.
‘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 in an Instagram video
The character Gollum (portrayed by Andy Serkis) in Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit (2012)
Wilde pictured arriving at the 2026 SFFILM Festival Opening Night at Swedish American Hall on April 24
The silver screen siren 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 feature, 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 debuted 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.’
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