01 March 2023 , 20:02
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It was very much a case of 'did he/didn't he' when Harry Styles was seemingly caught on camera spitting at co-star Chris Pine at last year's Venice Film Festival.
Speculation was rife after a clip from the event went viral which appeared to show the former 1D man, 29, send a big ball of spit in the 42-year-old's direction as he took his seat.
Footage shared by a number of fans showed a dapper-looking Harry in a blue suit and light blue shirt with a huge collar make his way to his assigned seat while the audience applauded.
As he did so, Chris, who was wearing a light brown suit jacket, beige trousers and a bow tie, clapped his co-star before suddenly stopping after Harry prepared to take his seat.
Chris Pine has again denied Harry Styles spat at him (Getty Images)Some fans believed his look of disbelief at the time - which was followed by a look of stunned laughter - was due to an unsavoury act of alleged spitting by the singer-turned-actor.
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But 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 recalled in a recent chat with 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."
Fans were convinced Harry spat at Chris at the Venice Film Festival (Getty Images)Opening up further on the moment, Chris finally revealed what was actually said at the time in a bid to bring an end to all the speculation that had since followed.
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.'"
Chris has called Harry a 'very kind guy' (Getty Images)While the latest words should finally end fans' wondering about a feud between the pair, Chris' rep was much quicker to put out the flames following the scenes.
Days after the clip went viral, a representative of the Hollywood star told E! News: "People are seeing some odd illusion of sorts online that is clearly deceiving...there is nothing but respect between these two men.
"This is a completely fabricated exchange, and any suggestion otherwise is a blatant attempt to create drama that simply does not exist."