By Meg Watson
Did Harry Styles, one of the most beloved musicians in the world, spit on his co-star Chris Pine at the Venice Film Festival? What would it actually take for a grown man to spit on another in front of the world’s media? And how would I react if my colleague walked up to me, looked me up and down, and spat directly in my lap?
These are the questions that have consumed my mind and my various timelines for the past 24 hours since footage of the apparent incident emerged from the premiere of Styles and Pine’s new film, Don’t Worry Darling.
Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine, Harry Styles moments after what’s been called #SpitGate.Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
The clip that has everyone so worked up, in case you missed it, shows Pine clapping as his cast mates enter the cinema then suddenly stopping to look down at his lap after Styles purses his lips in his direction before sitting down.
It’s only 11 seconds long. But it’s inspired thousands of words of analysis and endless theories, many under the moniker #SpitGate. And it’s not just a fringe social media thing either. This story was picked up on Tuesday night by Lisa Wilkinson on The Project.
I’ve watched the play-by-play, compared angles, and heard all the formal denials. Of course, I’m no closer to a definitive answer – but that’s not really the point.
The most interesting thing about this controversy is that it’s become a controversy at all.
How did we get to a point – in the increasingly strange lead-up to this film, in celebrity gossip, in human evolution, take your pick – where a Hollywood rep is having to earnestly issue a statement saying, “Just to be clear, Harry Styles did not spit on Chris Pine”?
I love it and I hate it. I’m judgmental but complicit. And each day I escape this swirling vortex of gossip, it sucks me straight back in.
For those not keeping track, this is just the latest in a long line of headlines concerning Don’t Worry Darling.
Others have included rumoured on-set tensions between star Florence Pugh and director Olivia Wilde, Wilde dating lead actor Harry Styles, Wilde getting served custody papers from ex-partner Jason Sudeikis on stage during an event for the film, Pugh pulling out of all media commitments, and a protracted (and incredibly dramatic) casting controversy with Shia LaBeouf.
In fact, the off-screen drama is completely eclipsing the film itself. Especially as early reviews for the movie, a psychological thriller about a couple in 1950s suburbia, have been underwhelming.
In a two-star review for The Guardian, critic Peter Bradshaw called it a “movie marooned in a desert of unoriginality”.
Also granting it two stars, BBC critic Steph Green criticised the film as “half-baked”, while Vulture’s Bilge Ebiri said it was “neither as bad as some are clearly hoping it will be nor as good as it probably needs to be to overcome the public-relations nightmare its press rollout has become.”
Time will tell if all press is good press. The movie hits Australian cinemas on October 6. But it’s certainly been good gossip, and our ongoing obsession with it reveals what a prized commodity that’s become.
Public celebrity drama like this has been harder to come by through the course of the pandemic (shocker: there weren’t many red carpets, premieres or spitting scandals in 2020). So, this recent explosion of incidents has a real sense of novelty to it.
And the whole thing has, in turn, been fuelled by pop culture enthusiasts who’ve been trained to sniff it out.
Celebrity gossip has become a participatory sport over the past few years, with people regularly submitting tips and speculation to anonymous Instagram accounts like DeuxMoi (which has been very active on rumours around Wilde, Styles and Pugh).
These theories are then also shared through podcasts and TikToks, which usually sees the narrative flying out of control but often includes morsels of truth too.
That’s bad news for Wilde, who could sustain reputational damage through this whole thing without the public truly knowing how much of it is earned. But for those who are following the lighter parts of the scandal for pure entertainment, it’s strangely exhilarating.
I mean, I don’t think Harry Styles spat on Chris Pine. But at this point, I can’t rule it out either. And it sure is fun to believe.
In need of some good news? The Greater Good newsletter delivers stories to your inbox to brighten your outlook. Sign up here.