Olivia Wilde revealed she received “insane death threats” after her House character entered an interracial relationship.
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Before she became a high-profile actress and director, Wilde spent five years as a cast member on the acclaimed medical drama that aired for eight seasons between 2004 and 2012. The series centered around Dr. Gregory House (portrayed by Hugh Laurie), as he tackled complex medical mysteries with his team.
Speaking to Variety at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia recently, Wilde pointed out that House raised her profile tremendously. The 40-year-old told the outlet that the medical drama pulled in 27 million viewers every episode.
Sadly, with that many folks tuning in, there’s sure to be a few bad apples.
In the show, a storyline featuring her character, Remy, in an interracial relationship with Omar Epps’s character, Dr. Eric Foreman, was deemed so controversial that Wilde revealed the studio received “insane death threats constantly.” The situation escalated to the point where additional security had to be brought in.
Remy was also bisexual, a trait that was seen as groundbreaking at the time. However, Wilde pointed out it is widely accepted and commonplace today.
“Seeing what’s on television now, if you watch Euphoria, the fact that my character was shocking and groundbreaking then, it’s like, no, it’s nothing,” she said.
Olivia Wilde Opened Up About ‘Hate Mail’ Over Her ‘House’ Character in the Past
Meanwhile, Wilde has previously spoken about the threats she and Epps faced during their time on House.
According to the New Zealand Herald, a 2009 episode where her character, Thirteen, and Epps’ character, Eric, shared their first kiss sparked backlash, including angry responses from viewers.
“We got a lot of hate mail for that,” she explained in a 2011 interview, per the outlet. “There are racist people out there. We got hate mail that said that someone wanted to cut off my lips and kill me. We had extra security on set for a while.”
Of course, Wilde continues to be in demand and has several high-profile projects in store.
Her next role is in Gregg Akari’s somewhat on-the-nose titled erotic thriller, I Want Your Sex. She will star alongside Cooper Hoffman and Charli XCX.
Her next project as director is set to be the feature adaptation of Avengelyne, with Margot Robbie slated to star.