Olivia Wilde has looked back on a meeting she had with Elon Musk long before he became one of the world’s most influential and controversial figures.
During an appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast on July 21, the actress recalled visiting SpaceX’s headquarters in Los Angeles. She said he expressed interest in supporting a charity she worked with in Haiti.
Highlights
- Olivia Wilde recalled meeting Elon Musk years ago, stating she now "deeply resents" him.
- Wilde linked her criticism of Musk and psychologist Jordan Peterson to broader concerns over weaponized misogyny.
- Her comments sparked split online reactions, with some praising her candor while critics pointed to recent viral memes comparing her appearance to Gollum.
While she said she appreciated his donation at the time, Wilde admitted that her opinion of him has changed significantly over the years.
"Olivia has the b*lls to say what so many other celebrities are unwilling to say. Good on her. We need more of this,” wrote an online user.
Olivia Wilde recalled the time when she met Elon Musk before he “turned into this creature”
Image credits: Louis Theroux/YouTube
During the podcast, Wilde spoke about meeting Musk years ago when SpaceX had recently opened its headquarters in Los Angeles.
She said she visited the facility because she wanted to see the rockets and met Musk while he was considering donating to a charity organization she supported in Haiti that built hospitals and schools.
"I met him many, many years ago. I think SpaceX had just built their headquarters in L.A. and I got to go on a tour because I wanted to see the rocket ships,” she said.
Wilde further added that Musk eventually donated a small amount of money to the organization.
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
"He was interested in donating money to an organization that I was a part of in Haiti... I believe he did donate a little bit of money, and that's appreciated,” she said.
She also revealed that she never expected him to take the direction he has in recent years.
Image credits: Louis Theroux/YouTube
"I really resent him now. I really deeply resent him."
Wilder continued, "I was confused by him. I would never have predicted he would go down the path he has gone down. He did seem really smart."
While reflecting on their early meeting, Wilde referred to Musk as someone she knew “before he turned into this creature.”
Wilde’s criticism of Musk was linked to a wider conversation about misogyny
Image credits: Colleen Sturtevant / WikiPortraits
Wilder said one of the reasons she disagrees with Musk is because of what she sees as his connection to ideas prompted within parts of online misogynistic communities.
During the interview, she referred to Musk’s public comments about declining birth rates and population growth.
Image credits: Gage Skidmore
Over the years, Musk has repeatedly argued “about how we don’t have enough people, and the world is underpopulated, and we could handle another billion people.”
According to Wilde, she disagrees with what she described as ideas suggesting that men are more powerful than nature or should have greater control over society.
She said those discussions are connected to broader conversations about power and gender that concern her.
Wilde also revisited her past comments about Jordan Peterson
Image credits: Gage Skidmore
At the time, she said Chris Pine’s character in the film had been partly inspired by Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson, whom she described as “a pseudo-intellectual hero to the incel community."
Speaking on the podcast, Wilde said she now thinks that description may have been unfair.
"It might have been unfair for me to call him a pseudo-intellectual."
Image credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
She acknowledged that Peterson "obviously thinks about things deeply," but added she still believes his ideas overlap with philosophies that, in her view, have influenced figures such as Andrew Tate.
Wilde also clarified that her criticism was not directed at everyone who follows Peterson.
Instead, she said she believes some people adopt what she described as a “sanitized version” of ideas that later become associated with misogynistic communities.
According to Wilde, the common theme she sees is “entitlement to power.”
She also said she was concerned by what she described as misogyny being “weaponized” and influencing politics and culture.
Jordan Peterson previously responded to Wilde’s earlier remarks
Image credits: Piers Morgan Uncensored/YouTube
After Wilde’s comments in 2022, Peterson responded during an interview with Piers Morgan.
He became emotional while discussing the criticism and defended his work with young men.
"People have been after me for a long time because I've been speaking to disaffected men,” he said.
Peterson also questioned the use of the term “incel” as a general insult.
"These men don't know how to make themselves attractive to women... they're lonesome, and they don't know what to do, and everyone piles abuse on them."
He argued that lonely young men deserve support rather than ridicule and rejected the suggestion that his work promotes misogyny.
Olivia Wilde’s latest comments on Elon Musk prompted mixed reactions online
Image credits: Ian West/PA Images/Getty Images
A few commenters supported her criticism of Musk.
One person wrote, "Olivia has the balls to say what so many other celebrities are unwilling to say. Good on her. We need more of this,” while another said, "I suddenly love Olivia Wilde again."
A third wrote, "I mean she is not wrong."
Others disagreed, however.
"There are a lot of reasons to dislike Musk, but his thinking we need to avoid population decline is not one of them," one commenter wrote.
Another joked, "Pretty sure he's losing lots of sleep over this."
Some also criticized Musk’s views on population growth, adding, "He really should have donated to a sp*rm bank, instead, if that's his mentality."
Another commenter wrote, "This is pretty classic narcissist behavior. They think that they're superior on a genetic level."
Among the reactions, some also brought up Olivia Wilde’s recent “Gollum” comparisons
Image credits: Brianna Bryson/WireImage
Among the reactions, one said, "This cracks me up... The person who was just compared to Gollum of The Lord of the Rings is calling another person a 'Creature.'"
The comment referred to photos and videos from the San Francisco International Film Festival, where some social media users compared Wilde’s appearance to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings and described her as looking like a “medical cadaver.”
Wilde later responded to those comparisons on social media and during a podcast interview, as reported by Bored Panda.
Image credits: hippojuicefilm/X
She said the viral images were taken with a fisheye lens, which she believed distorted her appearance.
"Is that my best angle? Was that my best-ever look? No."
She also joked about the comparisons by posting one of the viral images alongside a picture of Gollum on Instagram.
Later, while speaking with her brother in a lighthearted video, she responded to jokes that she looked like a “resurrected corpse.”
"Do you have any more questions? I'm not de*d.”
"I suddenly love Olivia Wilde again," wrote one user
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