Wipe away any thoughts you might’ve had about Harry Styles spitting on Chris Pine at the Venice International Film Festival on Monday (Sept. 5), because it didn’t happen — viral video or no.
“[It is] the result of an odd online illusion that is clearly deceiving and allows for foolish speculation,” Pine’s rep tells Billboard of the video making its rounds on the internet. “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.”
Billboard has also reached out to Styles’ rep.
In the clip, the “Late Night Talking” singer can be seen puckering his lips in Pine’s as he sits down next to his co-star, just as the All the Old Knives actor pauses his clapping and looks down at his lap.
The brief snippet has caused debate online as to whether Harry did or didn’t, with some scrutinizing the video frame by frame to try to determine whether Styles spit on his castmate. Meanwhile, others defended the pop star, insisting that he would never do anything so crass.
Still others shared different angles and clips of the interaction, which appear to better show that the actor just happened to be looking down in search of his sunglasses right as Styles puckered up. And of course, there are the many memes.
The latest headlines surrounding Don’t Worry Darling come as the cast — which also includes Florence Pugh, Nick Kroll and Gemma Chan — has been dealing with rumors of alleged behind-the-scenes feuding. Director Olivia Wilde also recently addressed recasting the role of Jack Chambers, which originally went to Shia LaBeouf, with now-boyfriend Styles. She claimed that LaBeouf’s “combative energy” wasn’t a fit for her set; the Padre Pio actor denied he was fired, telling Variety that he quit “due to lack of rehearsal time.”
Don’t Worry Darling arrives in theaters Sept. 23.
