The biggest fights between film directors and stars

Creating movie magic on the big screen often requires a lot of blood, sweat and tears behind the scenes to bring all the threads together.

While the ideal end result for a movie is entertainment that is seamlessly brought to life (which also makes the people involved a lot of money in the process), sometimes things can get a little messy along the way between the people making the movie.

From major blowups to lawsuits and a war of words, scroll on to delve into some of the most infamous feuds between movie directors and stars – and discover how their relationships became less than harmonious.

Related: A look back at the ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ drama, one year after its premiere

Long before Don’t Worry Darling hit theaters in September 2022, the psychological thriller made headlines for off-screen drama. Thank you! You have been successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email address. By signing up I agree to the terms and privacy policy and to receive emails from our Weekly Deal of the Day […]

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively

There were rumors going around about that director/actor Justin Baldoni and actress Blake Lively didn’t get along during the promotional tour for It ends with uswhich was released in August 2024.

The animosity between the pair was confirmed when Lively, 37, sued Baldoni, 40, for sexual harassment in December 2024, accusing the director of trying to tarnish her reputation with a smear campaign – a claim Baldoni’s lawyers vehemently denied.

Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh

In case of a 2022 release, Don’t worry, darling, many spectators became more interested in the drama behind the scenes than in the film itself. The film was directed by Olivia Wilde and with star Florence Pugh – and speculation was rife that there were tensions between the couple.

In the run-up to Don’t worry, honey‘s release Pugh did limited promotion for the film, avoided being photographed alongside Wilde and skipped or arrived late to press obligations. Although neither of them confirmed the truth behind their relationship, there were rumors that Pugh may have been unhappy with Wilde’s relationship costar Harry Styles.

Megan Fox and Michael Bay

During her Transformer to dawn, Megan Fox rocked the boat with director Michael Bay when she publicly compared him to “Hitler” – which ultimately led to her being fired from the franchise and replaced by Rosie Huntington Whiteley.

“He looks like Napoleon and he wants to create this crazy, notoriously crazy reputation. He wants to look like Hitler on his sets, and he is,” the 38-year-old told Fox Wonderland magazine in 2009. “So he’s a nightmare to work for, but when you take him away from the set, and he’s not in director mode, I really enjoy his personality because he’s so clumsy, so hopelessly clumsy.”

While he eventually cut her from his films, Bay shared GQ magazine in 2011 that he wasn’t particularly offended.

“I didn’t get hurt because I know it’s just Megan. Megan likes to get a reaction,” says Bay, 59. “She’s doing it the wrong way. I’m sorry, Megan. I’m sorry I made you work twelve hours. I’m sorry for forcing you to show up on time. Movies aren’t always warm and fuzzy.”

Jake Gyllenhaal and David Fincher

Jake Gyllenhaal And David Fincher didn’t mince their words when it came to talking about their experiences working together on the 2007 film Zodiac.

“Fincher paints with people,” Gyllenhaal, 44, said of the director in 2007, lamenting, “It’s hard to be a color.”

Fincher later had his own take on what it was like to work with Gyllenhaal – and he didn’t hold back.

“Jake was in the unenviable position of being very young and having a lot of people vying for his attention, while working for someone who doesn’t allow you to take a day off,” Fincher, 62, said. The New York Times in 2020. “I think Jake’s philosophy was inspired by – look, he had made a lot of films, even as a kid, but I don’t think he was ever asked to focus on details, and I think he was very distracted.”

Katherine Heigl and Judd Apatow

Another infamous case of a movie star taking on the director was When Katherine Heigl came out swinging against the film in which she played the leading role, from 2007 Whipped.

His director Judd Apatow was less than impressed when she hit Whipped during an interview with Vanity fair in 2008.

Related: Debunking Blake Lively’s Accusations Against Justin Baldoni

Months after a reported split between It Ends With Us costars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, she sued him for sexual harassment. In the lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, December 20 and obtained by Us Weekly after TMZ and The New York Times reported on it, Lively accused Baldoni of […]

“It portrays the women as shrews, as humorless and tense,” Heigl, 46, said. “It portrays the men as likable, crazy, happy guys. It exaggerated the characters, and some days I struggled with it. I play such a bitch; why is she such a spoilsport? Why do you portray women this way? Ninety-eight percent of the time it was a great experience, but it was hard for me to like the movie.

For his part, Apatow told the radio host Howard Stern in 2009 that he expected an apology from Heigl after the disparaging comments, but he never received one.

“[You’d think] At some point I get a phone call saying, ‘Sorry, I was tired…’ and then the call never comes,” Apatow, 57, said.