Olivia Wilde has laughed off the “weird rumour” that Harry Styles spat on Chris Pine at a screening of Don’t Worry Darling earlier this month.
The movie’s director appeared on US TV’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert this week where the topic of ‘spitgate’ soon came up.
For those in need of a quick refresher on the bizarre rumour, parts of the internet were speculating if the former One Directioner spat on his co-star during the Venice Film Festival.
Footage captured at the event showed Harry taking a seat next to Chris, who was applauding. Just before sitting, Harry’s lips moved before Chris looked down, stopped clapping and then appeared amused.
Both Chris and Harry have since cleared up the matter – with Harry joking about it in the most Harry Styles way – with Olivia now saying it was a case of people looking “for drama”.
As she was asked about a series of “wierd rumours”, Olivia brought the topic of spitgate up and laughed, before Stephen asked: “Did Harry Styles spit on Chris Pine? Why or why not? Support your answer.”
“He did not, but I think it’s a perfect example of people will look for drama anywhere they can,” she said. “Harry did not spit on Chris, in fact.”
When Stephen joked: “Only time will tell,” Olivia replied: “No, he really didn’t!”
A representative for Chris previously issued a statement to Variety, saying: “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,” the statement continued. “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.”
Harry also brought the subject up as he resumed his Love On Tour show at Madison Square Gardens in New York earlier this month, joking: “I just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine… but fear not, we’re back.”
Don’t Worry Darling hasn’t been far from the headlines over the last few weeks due to much speculation about purported feud between Olivia and the film’s star Florence Pugh, based on the impression that the actor has barely promoted the movie on social media.
The two women have also expressed divergent views on the film’s sex scenes. Olivia has described the movie as breaking new ground for centring female pleasure and, throughout promoting the movie, has discussed her philosophy on portraying sex on screen. On the other hand, in a Harper’s Bazaar profile, Florence suggested the movie’s marketing has placed too much of an emphasis on sex.
Olivia was also forced to speak out over seemingly false reports that Harry was paid more than three times as much as Florence for his work on the film, despite the latter receiving top billing.
Don’t Worry Darling hits cinemas in the UK on 23 September.