The Strangest Rumor About Chris Pine And Harry Styles, Debunked
To be a celebrity is to be mired in gossip and rumor, and the stars of 2022's "Don't Worry Darling" were no strangers to the rumor mill. Countless stories came out regarding tension between director Olivia Wilde and actors Florence Pugh and Shia LaBeouf, who was replaced by Harry Styles before filming began.
The press tour for "Don't Worry Darling" got even weirder, and the strangest rumor concerned leading men Styles and Chris Pine. After the film's premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, several videos went viral seemingly showing Styles spitting on Pine. In the videos, Styles leans down over Pine before taking his seat and a smirking Pine stops clapping for a moment.
Harry Styles literally SPIT on Chris Pine... pic.twitter.com/5mQsnBLB3r
— TCU 🍥 (@TheRealTCU) September 6, 2022
Styles' facial expression and Pine's reaction certainly made it appear as if Styles paused to spit on Pine, and it's understandable why the internet ran with the rumor as such. However, both men have denied any spitting occurred and have taken the situation in stride.
Styles and Pine denied and debunked the rumor
In 2022, Harry Styles headlined 15 shows at Madison Square Garden from August 20 to September 21. During his first concert after the viral Venice video, he quipped to the audience, "It's wonderful, wonderful, wonderful to be back in New York. I just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine." In a video captured by a concertgoer, the audience roared with excitement at Styles' remarks, and he laughed about the situation, effectively downplaying the rumor.
Pine's representatives took a more serious approach to their denial of the unjust rumor. "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 told Variety a day after the film's premiere. "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."
Months later, Pine explained what really happened and easily debunked the spitting rumor. "Harry did not spit on me. Harry's a very, very kind guy," Pine said in a video interview with Esquire. He explained that Styles leaned down and said, "It's just words, isn't it?" This was an inside joke among the cast and crew of the film as they were tremendously jetlagged during their time in Venice, Italy. They'd zone out and start "speaking gibberish" during press conferences. "It's just words" was a way for them to not take things too seriously during those interviews — much like how they didn't take this silly rumor seriously.