Did Harry Styles spit on Chris Pine? A representative for Pine denies the incident occurred, calling such claims “a ridiculous story.” Social media went into a craze following the world premiere of Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling” at the Venice Film Festival, where videos recorded from inside the theater showed Styles apparently spitting on Pine, although the act could not be 100% confirmed by the recordings. One video of the two actors earned over 1.4 million views.
“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,” Pine’s rep said in a statement to Variety. “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.”
A source close to the Venice Film Festival told Variety that there was no tension around Styles and Pine during the premiere and that a potential spitting incident was flagged by no one during the event. Variety has also reached out to Styles’ representative.
The alleged Styles-Pine spitting incident was the latest fiasco to hit the “Don’t Worry Darling” press tour, which has been battling rumors for weeks regarding an alleged falling out between director Olivia Wilde and leading star Florence Pugh. The two did not pose together on the Venice red carpet, nor did they embrace or look at each other much after the screening ended and the Venice audience gave the film a four-minute standing ovation.
“Florence is a force,” Wilde said at the film’s Venice press conference when asked to “clear the air” about the rumors. “We are so grateful she’s able to make it tonight [for the red carpet] despite being in production on ‘Dune.’ I know, as a director, how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day, so I’m very grateful to her, and to [‘Dune’ director] Denis Villeneuve for helping us. And we’ll get to celebrate her work tonight. I can’t say how honored I am to have her as our lead. She’s amazing.”
Wilde added, “As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, the Internet feeds itself. I don’t feel the need to contribute; I think it’s sufficiently well-nourished.”
Warner Bros. will open “Don’t Worry Darling” in theaters Sept. 23.
From Variety US