Remember that one week last year when all anyone could talk about was Harry Styles' saliva? I do.
It was the world premiere of the heavily sensationalised Don't Worry Darling at Venice Film Festival, and there was already a tonne of drama surrounding the cast.
But wherever you stood on the alleged Olivia Wilde/ Florence Pugh beef, all discourse was put on pause when a video of Harry appearing to spit on Chris Pine surfaced. Remind yourself of the bizarre incident:
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And just like that, this short 20-second clip was all anyone could talk about.
Did Harry Styles actually spit on Chris freaking Pine? If he did, why?! If he didn't, then what was it?!
There were thorough analyses of the video, with fans taking screenshots and making enhanced zooms to try and capture the exact trajectory of the supposed spit.
Just about six months later, Chris Pine is finally speaking out about #spitgate.
Speaking to Esquire, Chris explained what really went down in that Venice theatre.
"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."
Chris thought nothing of the premiere or the press conferences that followed.
It wasn't until he was on the flight back from Venice that his publicist woke him up 'in a state' to tell him what had gone down on the internet, telling him they needed to 'craft a message about what happened.'
Genuinely confused, he had his publicist show him the video, and admits, it 'does indeed look like he's spitting on me. He didn't spit on me'.
So Chris and his publicist put together a statement to release to press, assuring them that it was a 'ridiculous story' and a 'complete fabrication' created by 'an odd online illusion' that allows for 'foolish speculation'.
Overall, Chris admitted he was a little upset that Don't Worry Darling might have been overshadowed by rumours of supposed drama between the cast and crew.
As I touched on earlier, there were also whispers of serious tension between the film's star Florence Pugh and director Olivia Wilde on set.
“If there was drama, there was drama,” Chris explained.
“I absolutely didn’t know about it, nor really would I have cared. If I feel badly, it’s because the vitriol that the movie got was absolutely out of proportion with what was onscreen.
"Venice was normal things getting swept up in a narrative that people wanted to make, compounded by the metastasizing that can happen in the Twittersphere. It was ridiculous.”
Topics: Harry Styles, Film and TV, Celebrity
Ali Condon