Olivia Wilde Opens Up About Red Carpet Photos That Had Her Compared To Gollum And A “Medical Cadaver”

Olivia Wilde, the actress and filmmaker best known for Don’t Worry Darling and Booksmart, has addressed her late-April San Francisco International Film Festival red-carpet moment that led to netizens comparing her to “Gollum” and a “medical cadaver.”

The 42-year-old’s face appeared visibly hollowed, with her eyes seeming more pronounced, in one of the viral interview clips from the event.

During a podcast appearance on Wednesday, June 17, Wilde said her initial reaction to the footage was much the same as that of many critics.

However, the actress added that that was “not how” she actually looks.

Olivia Wilde has addressed her viral red-carpet appearance, insisting they do not accurately reflect her real-life image

Image credits: Call Her Daddy

Wilde appeared on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, where she took a humorous approach when sharing her take on the screengrabs from her interview before getting serious.

“I looked like — did you ever watch, are you too young for Tales from the Crypt?” Wilde asked the host.

“Somebody out there will know what I mean. There was, like, a little d**d sarcophagus man,” the actress added, referring to the Cryptkeeper from the retro horror anthology series.

Image credits: Getty/Miikka Skaffari

@callherdaddy“I saw that picture, and I was like…that probably wont go very far” 🤣♬ original sound – Call Her Daddy

While Wilde acknowledged that she appeared “shrunken” in the images, she admitted that she “could not believe it” when the backlash first began. 

According to Wilde, the images were simply bad photos — the sort she would normally delete or ignore if shared by friends or family. 

In this case, however, she did not have similar control.

Image credits: Getty/Ian West – PA Images

“All of us have had this situation where you take a bad picture. You’re like, ‘Okay, well that one, guys, k*ll it. We all agree. That one goes nowhere.’ And imagine if then it was in a hundred million people’s phones. You’re like, ‘Oh no. But that is not how I actually look.’”

Wilde said the photos did not bother her, noting that her friends had subjected her to similar jokes on numerous occasions. 

“A great thing about having really good friends is that they are the ones who laugh the hardest. I guarantee any joke that’s been made about me, my friends have made it first and in a much funnier way, because that’s the important thing,” she said.

Wilde previously addressed the pictures in May after her brother playfully poked fun at her

Image credits: hippojuicefilm

“Leave it to your little brother to give you the maximum amount of s**t,” Wilde said via an Instagram Story on May 3.

The upload featured a video showing her lounging on a sofa in a hoodie while her brother, Charlie, interviewed her from behind the camera.

“Olivia Wilde, do you care to address recent rumors that you’re a resurrected c**pse?” Charlie asked as the pair laughed.

@news.com.au The Hollywood actress addressed the red carpet photos that shocked the internet. #oliviawilde#corpse#fisheyelens#redcarpet♬ original sound – News.com.au

Looking like she is searching for her long lost precious pic.twitter.com/FUqdximeWB

— The Brown Slimer (@Brownslimer) April 29, 2026

“Listen! That was a fish-eye lens. And I’ll admit — was that my best angle, was that my best-ever look? No. No. It’s startling, it was a startling image,” Wilde explained.

“It was a fish-eye lens. I don’t know why I was so close to the camera; I didn’t have to be. That’s not… the truth. Do you have any more questions? I’m not d**d!”

Image credits: Getty/Amy Sussman

Wilde topped the video off with a pair of savage side-by-side photos of herself from the viral footage and a picture of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.

Netizens agreed with Wilde, blaming the cameraman for her appearance in question.

“The cameraman really did a disservice here,” one said, while another joked, “I see the cameraman using the ‘husband-can-you-take-a-picture-of-me?’ angle.”

Olivia Wilde continued being the subject of social media discourse, courtesy of her Met Gala outing

Wilde attended the 2026 Met Gala on May 4 in a black-and-white Thom Browne gown featuring an eccentric, cage-like structure jutting from her lower back.

The detail, however, failed to engage netizens enough to keep the conversation focused on her fashion, and they instead speculated Wilde had lost significant weight in recent months. 

They alleged she was using semaglutide injections.

Image credits: Getty/Dimitrios Kambouris

Same thing that causes this 👇 pic.twitter.com/tcpjQyzAq6

— BlackApple (@BlackApple) April 29, 2026

“That’s not a fish-eye lens. That’s O**mpic,” a netizen wrote, referencing Wilde’s Instagram Story.

Another pointed to Wilde’s notably thinner hair, saying, “That alone gives away the fat-jab usage.”

Over the past several months, celebrities including Ariana Grande, Margot Robbie, Demi Moore, and Jenna Ortega have faced online speculation about their appearance and alleged use of weight-loss medications.

Image credits: Getty/Stefanie Keenan

While none of these stars have publicly addressed the rumors, figures such as Oprah Winfrey, Sharon Osbourne, and Kelly Clarkson have spoken openly about using medications to help manage their weight.

The growing conversation around weight-loss injectables reflects a broader shift toward extreme slimness in the entertainment industry.

According to a size-inclusivity report published by Vogue Business, plus-size representation on runways fell to 0.3% during the 2026 Fall/Winter season — the lowest level since the publication began tracking size inclusivity three years ago.

“Truly admirable”, Olivia Wilde’s response makes fans “actually love her”

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