Chris Pine has finally given a clarification about last year's viral video in which Harry Styles appeared to be spitting on him during the Venice Film Festival premiere of their movie 'Don't Worry Darling'.
In a video accompanying an Esquire profile, Pine made it clear, "Harry did not spit on me."
Going on to defend his co-star, he said, "Harry's a very, very kind guy."
The actor guessed that Styles was saying something to him in the much-discussed moment, perhaps, "It's just words, isn't it?"
His remarks echo those of director Olivia Wilde, who insisted last fall on Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' that Styles did not spit on Pine.
In the clip, Pine also added, "We had this little joke because we're all jet-lagged; we're all trying to answer these questions. And sometimes when you're doing these press things, your brain goes befuddled and you start speaking gibberish. But it's just words, man."
Pine stated that he learned about the incident on his flight back from Venice. He was sleeping when his publicist woke him up "in a state" and told him, "We have to craft a message about what happened."
He had no idea what his rep was talking about, so she showed him the video, and Pine admits that it "does indeed look like he's spitting on me" in the clip. He added, "He didn't spit on me."
At the time, Pine's rep said of the rumours of Styles spitting on her client, "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."
"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," she continued, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
In September 2021, a video went viral that showed Styles entering a row of seats for the movie screening while avoiding eye contact with his co-star Florence Pugh and his then-girlfriend and director Olivia Wilde.
Suddenly, as he moves to sit down, something seems to fly out of his mouth, and Pine looks down at his pants before pausing and laughing at what just happened.
The video went viral and sparked off a meme-fest on social media.
Harry, who then flew to the USA for his music tour, simply chose to laugh off the rumours and quipped with all his fans, "just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine,"
