Harry Styles Jokes During His Concert That He Went to ‘Venice to Spit on Chris Pine’
Ernesto Ruscio/Getty; Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty
Harry Styles is making light of a spit-ty situation.
At the “As it Was” singer’s Madison Square Garden concert Wednesday night, Styles joked about the viral video footage dividing the internet following Don’t Worry Darling‘s Venice Film Festival premiere: did he or did he not spit on costar Chris Pine? (Pine’s rep previously told PEOPLE in an exclusive statement that the idea of Styles spitting on Pine was “ridiculous.”)
During Styles’ concert set, the singer and actor, 28, joked that he went “very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine,” according to multiple fan videos. After the remark, the crowd erupted in applause.
Shortly following Monday’s Don’t Worry Darling premiere, internet users ran with the idea that Styles spit on costar Pine when he bent down to take his seat next to the actor, 42.
RELATED: Controversy Around Olivia Wilde’s ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Is ‘Tough to Navigate with a Smile’ (Source)
Pine was notably seated to the left of the movie’s director, Styles’ girlfriend Olivia Wilde.
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As the “Watermelon Sugar” singer made his way over to Pine, his lips can be seen moving before Pine quickly looks down and stops clapping — which some believed was him acknowledging that the singer had just spit.
On Tuesday, Pine’s rep told PEOPLE: “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 rep 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.”
RELATED VIDEO: Florence Pugh at the Don’t Worry Darling Venice International Film Festival Premiere
Over the past several weeks, the movie — starring Styles and Florence Pugh, 26, as a 1950s California couple living in a strange planned suburban community — has been in the headlines for behind-the-scenes turmoil.
Director and costar Wilde said in a recent Variety interview that she fired original star Shia LaBeouf, who was to play Styles’ role. However, LaBeouf shot back in an email to Variety, saying he “quit the film due to lack of rehearsal time.”
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The same month, Wilde and Pugh also gave interviews in which they contradicted each other on the importance of Don’t Worry Darling‘s sex scenes. Early reviews for the movie are mixed, with many praising Pugh’s performance.
Don’t Worry Darling opens in theaters Sept. 23.
