Many film sets are laden with controversy, leading to a volatile on-set energy that’s impossible to ignore. There was Florence Pugh, who was pissed off that her co-workers started a romance during the filming of “Don’t Worry Darling,” and Bill Murray’s misconduct allegations that led to a whole set being shut down. These stories are packed with tension and are undeniably fascinating. Here are the biggest film controversies, proving that the real drama goes down behind the scenes.
1. Jodie Foster claims Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro were “awkward” on the “Taxi Driver” set
Foster had more acting experience than the iconic Scorsese and De Niro on “Taxi Driver”, where she plays a prostitute whom De Niro’s character tries to help. The movie was already controversial for casting Foster in such a sexualized role, and in 2014, the actress opened up about how the men were “a little scared” around her, giggling out of nervousness.
2. George Clooney and David O. Russell physically fight on “Three Kings”
On the set of this heist film, Russell and Clooney got into a physical altercation. While Russell has a history of disagreeing with actors, it’s generally verbal. In a 2024 interview, Clooney said, “The older you get, time allotment is very different… Five months out of your life is a lot. And so it’s not just like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go do a really good film, like Three Kings, and I’m going to have David O. Russell making my life hell. Making every person on the crew’s life hell.’ It’s not worth it.”
3. Gal Gadot was “shocked” by Joss Whedon threatening her on the “Justice League” set
Director Joss Whedon has often been called abusive by Hollywood actors, and one of them is Gal Gadot, who said he “kind of threatened my career and said if I did something, he would make my career miserable.” She added that she was “shaking trees” when it happened, and while bigwigs at Warner Brothers took care of the issue, she was shocked and felt she had to stand up and get justice since the same thing was happening to so many others.
4. Kate Winslet said James Cameron would “lose it” on the “Titanic” Set at every hiccup
The nickname “Iron Jim” comes from James Cameron’s demanding on-set reputation, and much of it was cemented during the 1997 movie “Titanic.” In an interview, Winslet admitted that she almost drowned multiple times and experienced hypothermia on set, saying, “You’d have to pay me a lot of money to work with Jim again… If anything was the slightest bit wrong, he would lose it. It was hard to concentrate when he was losing it, shouting and screaming. Looks like they paid her a lot for “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
5. Kevin Costner thought it was essential to challenge people in power in “JFK”
Most of Oliver Stone’s films are controversial, including the 1991 political thriller “JFK,” which was packed with conspiracy theories. In this movie, the star of the movie, Kevin Costner, said in 2016 that he spoke to the power of truth in the controversial movie, saying “The reality is there are going to be people that it has a chance to mark, and a movie like JFK, it has a chance for generations to visit it when they come of an age where that interests them, and the questions posed are really important. There was a shift in the country. “
6. Lucy Liu stood up to Bill Murray’s toxic behavior on “Charlie’s Angels”
Lucy Liu said that Murray would “hurl insults” at her on the set of this iconic 2000s movie, but she wouldn’t let him taunt her, explaining in a 2025 interview: “I really didn’t think about it. I would have done that in any situation. I think when I sense something is not right, I am going to protect myself. It’s an innate thing to do if you feel there’s injustice, and I always feel that way.”
7. Bill Murray harassed a crew member on “Being Mortal” by kissing them, and it shut down the set
We’re not done with Murray’s problematic behavior… A complaint against the actor for kissing a crew member led to the shutdown of the movie “Being Mortal” in 2022. In his explanation, he claims that he was “barbecued” for kissing someone while both of them were wearing masks, which he thought was “light” still thinks it’s funny. We’re not sure this actor understands how consent works…
8. Florence Pugh skipped the press tour for “Don’t Worry Darling” due to rumors
By now, the whole world knows about the romance that blossomed between Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde on “Don’t Worry Darling,” but what we don’t know is how Florence Pugh felt about it. Pugh and Wilde already didn’t get along, and she wasn’t happy about this new development. She also wasn’t impressed that her acting role was reduced to the hot scenes since “the most famous pop star in the world” was involved, adding, “When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it. It’s not why I’m in this industry…”
9. Dwayne Johnson denies allegations that he often showed up late to set
Rumors spread about Dwayne’s behavior on “Red One”, saying that he would often come to set much later than his call time, ballooning the movie’s budget to compensate for 8 hours of time, and would urinate in used water bottles. While he admitted to the water bottle part in a 2024 interview with GQ, he said that while he sometimes would show up late, that it wasn’t “that amount”, calling the allegations lies and adding, “That was a bananas amount. That’s crazy. Ridiculous.”
