Harry Styles has broken his silence on the now-debunked viral video where he seemingly spits on co-star Chris Pine at the premiere of his movie Don’t Worry Darling.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the singer/actor addressed the speculation at his first concert after he and the other stars of Don’t Worry Darling attended the film's premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Taking the stage at the famous Madison Square Gardens, Styles playfully spoke about the moment to thousands of his fans. "This is our 10th show at Madison Square Garden," he said. "It is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful to be back in New York. I just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine. But fret not, we’re back!"
The debate surrounding the so-called "spit-gate" emerged after a video of Styles walking in to find his seat next to Pine at the festival rapidly spread across social media. The clip shows the One Direction alum peering down and making a movement with his mouth that looked like he was spitting. Pine then glanced down at his lap mid-applause, only fuelled the allegations that Styles had spat on his co-star. A representative for Pine has since come forward to put the rumors to rest, insisting that Styles did no such thing.
"This is a ridiculous story — a complete fabrication and the result of an odd online illusion that is clearly deceiving and allows for foolish speculation," they stated. "Just to be clear, Harry Styles did NOT spit on Chris Pine. There is nothing but respect between these two men and any suggestion otherwise is a blatant attempt to create drama that simply does not exist."
While it appears Styles and Pine have no bad blood between each other, Don't Worry Darling has been mired by controversy after reports of a falling out between director Olivia Wilde and lead actor Florence Pugh surfaced weeks before the film's premiere. It all started with Wilde claiming that she had fired Shia LaBeouf from the movie and replaced him with Styles to make Pugh more comfortable, referencing the abuse allegations leveled at the Transformers star. LeBeouf shot back at this and said he had willingly walked away from the project due to insufficient rehearsal time. To provide further evidence of this, the actor released a clip showing Wilde asking him to keep working on the film and disparaging Pugh for not being more accommodating. Wilde has since addressed the feud, stating: "As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds itself. I don't feel the need to contribute, I think it's sufficiently well nourished."
Don't Worry Darling will debut at theaters on Sept. 23, 2023.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter