The Actress Reflects on Backlash Over Her Character’s Interracial Relationship and Bisexuality on the Show

Olivia Wilde has shared the disturbing reality of receiving violent threats during her time on House, the medical drama series where she portrayed Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley from 2007 to 2012. At the Red Sea International Film Festival in December, Wilde discussed the intense scrutiny she faced, particularly concerning her character’s interracial relationship with Dr. Eric Foreman, played by Omar Epps.

Wilde recalled that during the fifth and sixth seasons of the show, her character’s romantic involvement with a Black man prompted “insane death threats,” a response that led the production team to hire extra security for the cast. This was just one example of the overwhelming negativity she faced, as her character, who was revealed to be bisexual, broke new ground in television during a time when LGBTQ+ representation was limited.

Reflecting on her time as Thirteen, Wilde noted how revolutionary it seemed at the time for a character to be bisexual, but in the current landscape of television, shows like Euphoria have made such representations more common and less shocking. “It’s like, no, it’s nothing,” she said, acknowledging the progress made in TV portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters.

In a previous interview with Cosmopolitan in 2011, Wilde had spoken about the backlash House faced over Remy’s interracial relationship. “We got a lot of hate mail for that,” she revealed, recalling threats that included a person saying they wanted to “cut off my lips and kill me.” The hatred resulted in heightened security measures on set, underscoring the intense prejudice that the cast had to contend with.

The show, which ended in 2012, was a global phenomenon, with House holding the Guinness World Record for the world’s most-watched television program that year, reaching an audience of 81.8 million viewers across 66 countries.

During her talk at the festival, Wilde also discussed her shift from acting to directing. She highlighted the challenges of working in an industry dominated by male directors and pointed out that films directed by women don’t necessarily perform worse at the box office. “It’s not the audience’s problem. It’s the financiers, it’s the studios,” she explained, advocating for a change in how films are financed.

Wilde encouraged young women aspiring to work in entertainment to be confident in taking up space. “We’re sort of told that we should constantly apologize for our existence,” she said, urging women to adopt a fearless approach, especially when working in leadership roles like directing.