Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock; Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
Making a point? Olivia Wilde shared a cryptic quote about “ugly and crippling” love amid news that her former nanny filed a lawsuit against her and Jason Sudeikis.
The Don’t Worry Darling director, 38, posted the quote from writer John Steinbeck via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, February 14, Valentine’s Day. “There are several kinds of love,” read the message, which Steinbeck wrote to his son Thom in 1958. “One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you — of kindness and consideration and respect — not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable.”
The quote continued: “The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn’t know you had.”
Wilde’s post came amid news that her and Sudeikis’ former nanny Ericka Genaro is suing them for employment discrimination. Genaro filed a lawsuit against the former couple — who share son Otis, 8, and daughter Daisy, 6 — on Tuesday.
In court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Genaro alleged that she “became increasingly anxious and stressed” after her former employers ended their romantic relationship after nine years together.
The former childcare pro alleged that Wilde “abruptly left the home where she lived” with Sudeikis and the children in November 2020, adding, “Wilde’s sudden absence from the home had an adverse consequence on its emotional state, including Sudeikis leaning on the presence of [Genaro] for support.”
Genaro claimed that the Saturday Night Live alum, 47, asked her to “stay up at night after the kids were put to bed to talk” about his split from Wilde, who later moved on with Harry Styles. “The pressure of [Genaro] not only being the primary caretaker of the children, but also filling in Wilde’s absence for the children, became debilitating,” the ex-nanny claimed in the court filing.
At one point, Genaro allegedly discussed her feelings with Wilde and felt “a genuine sense of relief and [camaraderie]” after the conversation. Shortly after that discussion, however, Genaro claimed that Sudeikis told her Wilde spoke to him about what she thought was said in confidence.
Genaro eventually began attending group therapy with the Drinking Buddies star and the comedian, later seeing an osteopath on her own. In her complaint, she alleged that Sudeikis abruptly fired her after she requested a three-day “leave of absence” to deal with her anxiety and depression.
She now believes she was terminated “because of her disability of anxiety/depression, and for seeking the reasonable accommodation of a three day leave of absence for same.” Genaro is seeking damages including “loss of earnings, deferred compensation and other employment benefits” and reimbursement for her legal fees.
Last year, Genaro made headlines when she told the Daily Mail that Sudeikis became inconsolable after realizing Wilde was on her way to Styles’ home with her now-infamous “special” salad dressing. (The Booksmart director and the Grammy winner, 29, called it quits in November 2022).
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After Genaro’s interview, Wilde and Sudeikis slammed her comments in a joint statement. “As parents, it is incredibly upsetting to learn that a former nanny of our two young children would choose to make up such false and scurrilous accusations about us publicly,” the former couple told Us in October 2022. “This is the unfortunate apex of a now, 18-month-long campaign of harassing us, as well as our loved ones, close friends and colleagues. We will continue to focus on raising and protecting our children with the sincere hope that she will now choose to leave our family alone.”