Fans were shocked as Harry Styles was seemingly caught on camera spitting on movie co-star Chris Pine at last year's Venice Film Festival.
Back in September last year, as the actors were doing press work for their film Don't Worry Darling, Harry, 28, caused a social media storm after fans speculated he spat in his fellow actor's lap.
The pair were sitting alongside Harry's now ex-girlfriend and the film's director, Olivia Wilde, 38.
During the bizarre moment, Chris, 42, appeared to stop in his tracks, looking down at his lap with a face of disbelief as Harry nonchalantly sat down in the chair next to him.
However, the spitting claims were soon dismissed by both Harry and Chris' reps.
Now, Star Trek star Chris has once again rebuffed these claims, and went as far as calling Harry a "very, very kind guy".
"I had no idea what happened," Chris told Esquire. "She [his publicist] showed me the thing, and it does look, indeed, like Harry's spitting on me. He didn't spit on me."
Opening up further on the moment, Chris finally revealed what Harry actually said to him at the time, in a bid to bring an end to all the speculation.
He continued: "I think what he said is he leaned down and I think he said, 'It's just words isn't it?'
"Cause we had this little joke. 'Cause we're all jet-lagged, we're all trying to answer these questions that, sometimes, when you're doing these press things, your brain goes all befuddled and you start speaking gibberish. And we had a joke, 'It's just words, man.'"
Soon after the spitting allegations were made, Chris's representative released a statement dismissing the claims.
It read: "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.”
This wasn't the only piece of drama involved in the promotion of the film, which was released in September last year.
The drama began after a report from Page Six claimed that Florence Plough, who also plays one of the leads in the film as Harry's wife, was upset with director Olivia dating Harry during the production.
Olivia's relationship with Harry was revealed soon after her split from Jason Sudeikis — before he publicly served her custody papers for their children after they split in November.
Adding to the reported feud, Olivia was heard to have suggested "Miss Flo" needed a "wake-up call" in a video leaked by Shia LaBeouf, who refuted the claim that he had been fired from the movie.
Shia was originally set to star opposite Florence in the movie as her husband, but the role ended up going to Harry due to "scheduling conflicts" on Shia's part.
In the footage, Olivia can be heard encouraging Shia to stay as part of the film, rather than leave it, and her tone hints at some tension with Florence.
However, back in September, Olivia opened up about his departure, in her Variety cover story, asserting that she fired Shia over his “combative” acting process and need to make a “safe, trusting environment.”
Speaking at a press conference where Florence was notably absent on the day, Olivia said: "Florence is 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."
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