Harry Styles joked about the viral video of him “spitting” on Chris Pine during a concert in New York City on Wednesday night.
Shortly after the debut of Olivia Wilde’s new film Don’t Worry Darling at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, a video began to circulate online showing star Styles taking a seat at the venue next to Pine. Many fans speculated on Twitter that the British singer/actor had spat at his co-star, a rumour Pine’s representatives have since rejected.
But during the opener of his Love On Tour show at Madison Square Garden, Styles made a lighthearted reference to the drama.
“This is our tenth show at Madison Square Garden. It’s wonderful, wonderful, wonderful to be back in New York. I just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine,” the 28-year-old joked. “But fret not, we’re back!”
While Pine hasn’t officially commented on the incident, his spokesperson issued a statement shutting down the “ridiculous story”.
“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,” they commented.
Harry took a short break from his Madison Square Garden residency to promote the new movie in Italy and is slated to perform at the famed venue until 21 September.
Don’t Worry Darling, which follows a housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community, is set to hit U.S. cinemas on 23 September.
The film also stars Florence Pugh, Gemma Chan, and Nick Kroll.