He’s got jokes! Harry Styles found the humor in the viral moment from the Venice International Film Festival premiere of Don’t Worry Darling — in which he appeared to spit on his costar.
“Wonderful to be back in New York, I just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine,” Styles, 28, said during his Wednesday, September 7, concert at Madison Square Garden, where he is performing a 15-night residency. “But fraught not, we’re back and our job tonight is to entertain you and I promise, we are going to do our absolute very best.”
The upcoming thriller premiered in Italy Monday, September 5, but the event that made headlines was a clip of Pine, 42, reacting to the “As It Was” singer sitting down next to him ahead of the film’s screening. Some fans claimed that they saw the England native spit on the Star Trek star, while others believed Pine was simply searching for his sunglasses, which happened to be in his lap.
After the “Watermelon Sugar” artist took his seat, the Princess Diaries 2 actor, who was sitting between director Olivia Wilde and Styles, seemingly looked downs and laughed as he paused his applause in the now-viral video.
On Tuesday, a rep for the California native spoke out to vehemently deny allegations that anything disrespectful occurred between the two actors.
“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,” a statement to Us Weekly read. “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.”
As the festival went on, however, rumors of tension between the cast and crew only continued to swirl. DWD star Florence Pugh and the film’s director, Wilde, have appeared to be at odds for months.
While a source told Us that the Midsommar star, 26, and Wilde, 38, had several “disagreements personally and professionally” — which is “why Florence isn’t doing any press for the movie” — the O.C. alum downplayed any issues between the two women when asked about the alleged “falling out” during press on Monday.
“Florence is a force, and we are so grateful that she’s able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune,” Wilde told reporters about Pugh when asked to “clear the air” regarding the rumors. “I know, as a director, how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day, so I’m very grateful to her, to [Dune director] Denis Villeneuve for helping us. And we’re really thrilled we’ll get to celebrate her work tonight. I can’t say enough how honored I am to have her as our lead. She’s amazing in the film.”
Wilde, who has been dating Styles since January 2021, added that she doesn’t “feel the need to contribute” to the “gossip and all the noise out there.”
“The internet feeds itself,” the Booksmart director stated.”I think it’s sufficiently well-nourished.”
Despite the drama surrounding the film, the Lady Macbeth star, who did walk the red carpet with her costars at the festival, took to social media on Wednesday to give a shout-out to “all cast and crew” who were involved in the making of Don’t Worry Darling.
“Thank you for all of your hard work,” she continued. “We genuinely wouldn’t have been there without your talent and we appreciate it hugely,” she gushed, before giving a special shoutout to Pine.
“I also just can’t help but post how bloody cute and hilarious Chris Pine is for being the no.1 photographer, getting down on white pressed trousered knees for angles,” she quipped. “Now that’s dedication. Love you Chrissy.”