Olivia Wilde Blames Fans’ “Parasocial” Obsession With Harry Styles for Age-Gap Backlash

Olivia Wilde attributes the surge of public fury over her past relationship with singer Harry Styles, who is 10 years her junior, to fans’ strong parasocial connection to Styles rather than their age gap.

Appearing on a recent episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Wilde admitted that people were “f—ing p*ssed” about their age difference but said the reaction mainly reflected the expectations fans place on celebrities.

“I think that it also had a lot to do with the kind of parasocial relationship people had with/have with him, which is a burden that is very weighty and not something I envy, and he carries it with grace,” Wilde said. “I think that is an enormous responsibility that all those stars have to carry, that’s f—ing impossible.”

The comments, paired with photos of Wilde from the podcast and a solo shot of Styles, sparked a mixture of opinions online, with some agreeing with Wilde’s assessment of fans while others disputed the nature of the backlash.

“The age gap in question being 26 and 36, she’s right, you guys are CRAZY,” one person commented.

Another follower of Wilde’s sided with her reasoning, saying, “You’re a breath of fresh air hearing someone openly condemn parasocial relationships, and anyway, the people who used terms like pedophile, 26, and 36 years old, you’re not right in the head.”

However, some people disagreed with Wilde, calling out a perceived double standard: “Notice how it’s only women who get age shamed for dating a younger man, but it’s okay for men to date and marry a woman 20 years younger than them,” read one response.

Others questioned if the age gap was even the core of the controversy: “dude people were mad because you were the f—ing director f—ing one of your employees and you ruined everyone’s experience filming because of it, even the costars had a falling out and Harry ended up blacklisted,” one person said. “Don’t act stupid. It was your unprofessionalism as a director.”