Olivia Wilde Was Served Legal Papers from Jason Sudeikis in Middle of CinemaCon Presentation
At the time the envelope was given to Wilde, 38, by a woman in the front who approached the stage, many believed it to be an unsolicited script. Sources have since confirmed to PEOPLE that the director and actress was served legal papers mid-presentation, pertaining to custody of her children with ex-fiancé Jason Sudeikis. EPGR’s David Glass provides legal expert insight on the likelihood that Sudeikis had foresight into the way papers would be served.
Attendees at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Tuesday were left confused after Olivia Wilde was served an envelope marked “Personal and Confidential” while she was on stage to discuss her upcoming film Don’t Worry Darling.
While many believed at the time that the envelope — given to Wilde, 38, by a woman in the front who approached the stage — was an unsolicited script, sources confirm to PEOPLE that the director and actress was served legal papers mid-presentation pertaining to her children with ex-fiancé Jason Sudeikis.
A reporter present in the audience observed the exchange, in which Wilde asked, “This is for me?”
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After remarking that it seemed “very mysterious,” the Tron star said she was “going to open it now because it feels like it’s a script.”
Once she opened it, Wilde continued, “Okay, got it. Thank you.” She then went on with the presentation, picking up where she left off with her remarks on Don’t Worry Darling, and it never came up again.
Speculation immediately began among those present, with those at CinemaCon wondering if the envelope handoff was somehow part of the presentation or if it was in fact a script.
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A source close to Sudeikis, 46, tells PEOPLE: “Papers were drawn up to establish jurisdiction relating to the children of Ms. Wilde and Mr. Sudeikis,” referring to the former couple’s son Otis, 8, and daughter Daisy Josephine, 5.
“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.
A representative for Sudeikis did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment; a rep for Wilde has not commented.
Family law attorney David Glass, who is not involved in the case, tells PEOPLE it is “highly unlikely” that Sudeikis did not know any of the details of how Wilde would be served.
“I talked to every one of my clients to get the information on where could we serve him or her,” he says. “We get all that information from them. And if you’re going to go to that sort of extreme length to do it publicly, to do it in an embarrassing way, I can’t see the client not knowing about it. You’re obligated as an attorney to share most things that you’re doing with your client.”
Once it was confirmed that the parcel contained court documents, questions then swirled around the woman who brought the envelope, and how she may have gotten into the CinemaCon event and close enough to the stage.
Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director at CinemaCon LLC, tells PEOPLE in a statement on Wednesday: “As the convention organizer, we have never in the history of the convention had an incident where a delegate has approached the stage who was not authorized to be there. In light of this incident, we are reevaluating our security procedures to ensure the safety of all of our attendees.”
Neuhauser was unable to comment on whether the woman with the envelope was apprehended, or whether she had CinemaCon access.
Wilde and Sudeikis met in the spring of 2011 at a Saturday Night Live wrap party, and began dating soon after.
They became engaged in 2013 and welcomed Otis the following year. Wilde gave birth to Daisy in 2016.
In September 2020, the Booksmart director began shooting her second feature film, Don’t Worry Darling, which she directs and stars in opposite Harry Styles.
Two months later, reports surfaced that Wilde and Sudeikis had ended their relationship. In January 2021, she and Styles went public with their romance.
An insider told PEOPLE in March 2021 that although Wilde and Sudeikis have moved on in other relationships, they are committed to co-parenting their kids amicably and there was no animosity between them.
The former couple had “transitioned into a great co-parenting routine,” another source said, adding, “The children are the priority and the heart of the family’s relationship.”
Last July, Ted Lasso star Sudeikis opened up to GQ about the shock breakup, saying, “I’ll have a better understanding of why in a year.”
“And an even better one in two, and an even greater one in five,” he added. According to the actor, “It’ll go from being, you know, a book of my life to becoming a chapter to a paragraph to a line to a word to a doodle.”
“That’s an experience that you either learn from or make excuses about,” he told GQ. “You take some responsibility for it, hold yourself accountable for what you do, but then also endeavor to learn something beyond the obvious from it.”
