Jason Sudeikis has come under fire for preaching about mental health less than a year after the public humiliation of his ex-fiancée Olivia Wilde when his lawyers served her custody on stage in front of industry executives.
Sudeikis, 47, along with fellow Ted Lasso cast members, met with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden to discuss how mental health contributes to overall well-being.
The comedian said he wants to encourage people, even in politically divided Washington DC, to regularly check in with friends, family and co-workers to “ask how they’re doing and listen honestly.”
His caring words worked directly against the actions of his own legal team, who provided Wilde with papers in April 2022 while he was presenting live on stage at CinemaCon 2022.
The 38-year-old actress was in the middle of a presentation to 4,100 film industry executives about last year’s thriller Don’t Worry Darling when she received the legal documents.
Jason Sudeikis has been criticized for speaking out about mental health after his lawyers served custody papers to ex-fiancé Olivia Wilde in a publicly humiliating manner
His words of encouragement seemed at odds with the way legal documents were served on his ex, Olivia Wilde, during a live presentation at CinemaCon in April 2022
Wilde called the incident “an attack on her workplace,” but said she wasn’t surprised because there was a “reason” she ended her relationship with Sudeikis.
In court documents obtained by , she argued that the decision to serve her on stage in front of an audience was a clear attempt to “threaten” and “embarrass” her.
Sudeikis has always maintained that he did not know that the newspapers would be delivered to Wilde in such a public and humiliating manner.
Wilde explained, “Jason’s actions were clearly aimed at threatening me and catching me off guard. He could have served me discreetly, but instead he chose to serve me in the most aggressive way.
“The fact that Jason is embarrassing me professionally and publicly displaying our personal conflict in this way is extremely against the best interests of our children.”
The Sudeikis and Ted Lasso cast members met with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden to discuss the role of mental health in overall well-being
Many on Twitter on Monday questioned whether Sudeikis was the right person to deliver such a sensitive mental health message
Sudeikis later responded and apologized, saying he was “very, very sorry” and that he “deeply regretted” the way she had been served. His response explained the reason for his challenge to the previously agreed custody agreement for the children.
A source told Variety at the time: “Papers were being drawn up to establish jurisdiction over Ms. Wilde’s and Mr. Sudeikis’ children.
‘Mister. Sudeikis had no prior knowledge of the time or place the envelope would have been delivered as that was solely up to the process service company involved and he would never allow it to be delivered to her in such an inappropriate manner.’
Although it was made clear that it was not his decision to serve Wilde in this way, on Monday it prompted many on Twitter to wonder if Sudeikis was indeed the right person to deliver such a sensitive mental health message to transmit.
“Didn’t he serve his wife custody papers in front of a live audience to embarrass her?” asked a Twitter user.
“He subpoenaed his girlfriend PUBLICLY!” wrote another outraged user.
“Joe Biden wow thanks for inviting these experts to the discussion,” Peter posted sarcastically.
“Who cares what an actor thinks?” asked Orville Alloway.
“Wouldn’t meeting real mental health experts and medical staff be more imperative than a celebrity photo op speaking to the press corps?” David Strickhouser pointed out.
The former couple’s custody battle took a bitter turn when legal papers were served on Wilde at an event on stage in front of 4,000 industry insiders last April
Sudeikis and Wilde started dating in 2011 and ended their relationship in November 2020.
They engaged in an ugly custody battle over their children that overlapped with Wilde’s relationship with Harry Styles, 29.
Sudeikis filed a lawsuit against his ex in New York City Family Court in October 2021, with the dispute largely revolving around where their children would live.
While he wanted them to live in Brooklyn, Wilde hoped they would stay in Los Angeles and potentially move to London, where her then-boyfriend Styles lived before their split last November.
In a legal act signed last August, a judge ruled that “New York was not the home state of the children concerned” but that “California was the home state of the children.”
The couple have been friendlier of late and are now said to be on good terms as they raise their children together.
The adorable family was made love at the Harlem Globetrotters game in February 2020
Mental health and caring for one another is an issue for Ted Lasso, Sudeikis told reporters from the lectern as he helped Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre open her daily White House briefing.
The Emmy-winning feel-good show on Apple TV+ just opened its third season.
“While that’s easier said than done, we also need to know that we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help ourselves,” Sudeikis said. “It takes a lot, especially when it comes to something that has such a negative stigma, like mental health for example, and it doesn’t have to be that way.
“And if you can ask for that help from a professional, fantastic,” he continued. “If it’s going to be a loved one, just as well, in many ways.”
Mental health is part of Biden’s bipartisan “one-size-fits-all” agenda.
He has urged lawmakers to allocate more resources to fighting what some are calling a crisis, and the government has increased funding to bolster a new 988 suicide and crisis line and bring more mental health professionals into schools .
President Joe Biden tweeted a photo with Jill Biden, Jason Sudeikis and the cast of Ted Lasso. “Had a wide ranging discussion on the importance of mental health with some people from an England football team,” he wrote
President Biden pasted a sign above the Oval Office door with the word “Believe” in direct reference to the television show
Sudeikis said there shouldn’t be a stigma attached to asking for help because everyone knows someone who needed a shoulder to lean on or was that person themselves.
“No matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter who you voted for, we all probably know, I suppose all, someone who was or was that kind of person himself, who fought, who felt isolated, himself felt anxious, felt alone,” he said.
“It’s actually one of the many things, believe it or not, that we all have in common as human beings,” Sudeikis continued. “That said, it’s something that we can and should all talk to each other about when we’re feeling that way, or when we recognize it in someone who is feeling that way.”
He made a special appeal to the people of the nation’s capital.
“I know that in this city a lot of people don’t always agree, don’t they, and don’t always feel heard, seen, heard,” Sudeikis said. “But I really believe that we should all do our best to look out for each other. That is my very personal conviction. I think everyone up here on stage believes that.”
The Bidens have seen some of Ted Lasso and are familiar with his messages of hope and kindness, according to the White House.
Ted Lasso won Emmys for Best Comedy, Best Actor in a Comedy for Sudeikis, and Best Supporting Actor in 2022 and 2021
Biden on Sunday tweeted a photo of the Oval Office with a sign that reads “BELIEVE” above the door – a reference to Lasso’s mantra.
Joining Sudeikis at the daily briefing were cast members Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Toheeb Jimoh. The group was given a tour of the president’s private living quarters, a White House official said.
As he exited the briefing room, Sudeikis was asked if he would do the Joe Biden impression he used to do on Saturday Night Live, but he declined, saying “they have the real one here now.”
Ted Lasso won Emmys in 2022 and 2021 for Best Comedy, Best Actor in a Leading Comedy for Sudeikis, and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for Brett Goldstein, among others.
After winning in 2021, Sudeikis said the show is about family, mentors and teachers, and teammates.
“And without those three things in my life, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.