Don’t Worry Darling star Nick Kroll jokes he was ‘mastermind’ behind Harry Styles and Chris Pine’s ‘spit-gate’-Louise Griffin-Entertainment – Metro

Don’t Worry Darling star Nick Kroll has joked he was the ‘mastermind’ behind the world thinking for a hot minute that Harry Styles actually spat on Chris Pine.

For those blissfully unaware of ‘spit-gate’ – after the Don’t Worry Darling press conference and premiere at Venice Film Festival, the stars sat down for what many assumed would be a quiet and uneventful screening.

How wrong they were – a short clip of Harry leaning towards Chris and sitting down immediately went viral after it looked a little like he suddenly decided to spit on his co-star.

Later, Chris’ reps denied it happened, and Harry joked about it on tour, with many fans realising that Chris most likely was looking for his sunglasses before realising they were right there in his lap. But it was a truly wild few hours.

Chatting to Jimmy Fallon about his ‘plan’ to create buzz around the movie, Nick said: ‘If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a thriller, and I think the less you know about the movie going in, the better, so that when you’re watching it, it’s all new and surprising.

‘So I decided let’s create a lot of buzz around the film but not about the film itself.’

He went on to joke: ‘You know, I’m the puppeteer. So I was like, “Hey Harry, you know what would be a great idea? When you walk into the premiere in Venice, spit on Chris Pine.” And he was like, “Got it.” But then he was like, “I don’t know if that’s gonna work.”

‘So then I was like, “Maybe you should just give me a kiss.” And then I asked him to spit in my mouth and he wouldn’t. The guy’s got boundaries.’

Harry also saw the funny side of the situation, addressing it during his first tour show after Venice.

Don’t Worry Darling has been at the centre of speculation for months (Picture: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

The Watermelon Sugar hitmaker told the audience: ‘This is our 10th show at Madison Square Garden, it is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful to be back in New York.’ 

He then quipped: ‘I just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine but fear not, we’re back.’ 

It came after Chris’ spokesperson released a statement rubbishing the speculation, stating: ‘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.

‘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 added to People Magazine.

Spit-gate wasn’t the only eventful moment of the night (although by far the weirdest).

After missing the press conference, apparently due to filming commitments for Dune 2, Florence Pugh rocked up to Venice, Aperol Spritz in hand, before glamming up for the premiere, sweetly posing alongside her grandmother, as well as her castmates.

At the press conference, Olivia attempted to quash rumours of a feud between the pair of them, describing her leading actress as a ‘force’.

‘We are so grateful she is able to make it tonight [to the premiere] despite being in production,’ she added.

‘As for all the endless tabloid gossip and noise out there, the internet feeds itself. I don’t feel I need to contribute to it.

‘It’s sufficiently well-nourished.’

Elsewhere at the screening, Harry celebrated the standing ovation the film received by sharing a kiss with co-star Nick.

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