Harry Styles has addressed the claims he spewed about Don’t Worry Darlings cast member Chris Pine at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday in a cheeky address to fans at a concert in New York.
“It’s wonderful to be back in New York, I went very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine,” said the pop star as the room erupted in cheers and applause.
The 28-year-old laughed as he continued: “Our job tonight is to entertain you, I promise we’ll do our best,” urging the crowd to have “as much fun as possible.”
It comes after Pine’s reps dismissed the claims as “complete fabrication” in a statement a people Wednesday.
“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,” he said.
Image of Styles taking his seat in the Don’t worry honey Tuesday’s release has divided the internet, spawning thousands of memes and theories surrounding the feud between the film’s cast.
Die-hard fans of Styles, who fiercely defended him on Twitter in the wake of the spitting scandal, have expressed their disappointment at As it was The singer did not deny the shocking act.
“We were defending him with our lives and he’s making jokes about it,” wrote one, with another adding: “No seriously he’s crazy.”
Another said: “I can’t believe I’ve been defending you from the spitting accusation and you’re here LAUGHING AT ITTTTT.”
In the clip, Styles is seen nodding his head towards Pine’s lap as he bends down to take his seat, with the actor freezing mid-clap and looking down at his lap with a puzzled smile .
As the former One Direction member sat down, he looked everywhere but Pine, giving fans more reason to believe in the alleged spit attack.
It was anything but smooth sailing for the Don’t worry honey cast Tuesday amid director Olivia Wilde and headlines Florence Pugh’s well-documented dispute.
During the event, Pine appeared to dissociate as Styles sought out questions at a press conference Pugh chose to skip, despite being in Venice at the same time. He later put on an enthusiastic display when Pugh arrived on the red carpet, bending down to take pictures of the star and leading fans to believe he had sided with her in the drama.
Meanwhile, awkward footage of Styles refusing to be photographed with Wilde, who the pop star has been in a relationship with since September 2020, has fueled speculation about the pair’s split.
Styles “rejects” Wilde on the red carpet
In the video, Styles, 28, can be seen posing next to Wilde, 38, on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival, but he appears to reject her.
Instead, he fist pumps Nick Kroll, refuses to make eye contact with Wilde, and eventually positions himself between Gemma Chan and Sydney Chandler.
Reports suggest that the cast tension began when Wilde and Styles formed an on-set romance, allegedly while Wilde was still in a long-term relationship with Ted Lasso actor Jason Sudeikis.
The former couple, who share two children together, announced their split after nine years together and in January, Wilde was photographed holding hands with Styles attending a friend’s wedding.
At the time, sources cited Wilde’s relationship with Styles as the main reason for their engagement break-up, with an insider saying New York Post at the time the duo had an ongoing affair, leaving Sudeikis bewildered.
Pugh’s beef with Wilde is believed to have stemmed from the alleged affair.
The “iconic” behavior of Florence Pugh
The 26-year-old star of Olivia Wilde Don’t worry honey sparked an online frenzy with her brief but dramatic appearance at the Venice Film Festival after refusing to attend the press panel with the rest of the cast.
Monday, variety reported that Pugh would not be present at the press conference because his flight was arriving too late. Wilde later cited “scheduling conflicts” as the reason. Pugh is currently filming Dune 2 in Budapest.
partner dune Star Timothee Chalamet arrived in Venice two days earlier, so perhaps Pugh simply chose not to deal with awkward questions about tensions on the film’s set related to Styles’ on-set romance with Wilde and the ” dismissal” of actor Shia LaBeouf.
Inside the conference, Wilde was tasked with dodging questions about the scandal, refusing to add fuel to the fire.
After talking about Pugh’s performance, he said: “As far as all the endless gossip in the tabloids and all the noise out there, I mean, the Internet feeds itself. I don’t feel the need to contribute. I think she’s well-nourished.”
More to come