Debate rages over footage of stars at Don’t Worry Darling premiere

Did we just see what we think we saw? With the cast and crew of Don’t Worry Darling at war, this footage from the premiere has left many shocked.

The drama engulfing new film Don’t Worry Darling has taken a shocking new turn, with footage now circulating online which many claim shows lead actor Harry Styles spitting at co-star Chris Pine during the premiere.

In the short clip being shared on social media, Styles is seen walking into the premiere to applause at the Venice Film Festival, before seemingly spitting at Pine as he takes his seat next to him.

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Tensions seem to be high between Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine and Harry Styles.

Chris Pine appears momentarily stunned, looking down in disbelief. Some celeb-watchers have even slowed down the footage to try and capture exactly what happened.

It’s a fleeting moment - and you can decide for yourself whether or not it happened in the video at the top of the page.

Here’s another angle of the alleged incident - you can certainly see Pine stop clapping, look down, and then shake his head in apparent disbelief:

Harry Styles takes his seat at the Don't Worry Darling premiere.

Harry takes his seat. #DontWorryDarling#venezia79pic.twitter.com/by6DmYxvRS

— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) September 5, 2022

Many fans are not convinced Styles would do such a thing - with some insisting that he simply took his seat, spit-free.

“What? He takes his seat, on an actual seat? Damn, I’m surprised. Let me know if he uses a cup or a bottle to drink water. This is wild,” one wrote in the comments.

Another added: “I’m going frame by frame and really can’t see any spit.”

The hostile moment - if it did indeed play out that way - is even more shocking as there was no known tension between Styles and Pine.

However, in another viral clip featuring the co-stars at the Venice Film Festival, Pine appears to be zoning out as Styles answers a question from a reporter:

you can almost see the screams catching in his throat pic.twitter.com/AXtiPAd4zx

— anna (@romansgerri) September 5, 2022

Tensions on the set of the film and the ensuing press tour have been very well-documented in recent weeks. In July, an insider told Page Six that Styles and director Olivia Wilde’s on-set romance “did not go down well” with lead actress Florence Pugh as Wilde was allegedly still with her ex-partner Jason Sudeikis.

Then last month, a video surfaced showing Wilde begging Shia LaBeouf to stay on as lead actor in Don’t Worry Darling - just two days after she claimed in an interview to have fired him in a bid to keep other cast members “safe”.

“I wanted to reach out because I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet,” she said in the video. “I, too, am heartbroken, and I want to figure this out.”

The Booksmart director went on to hint at a disagreement between LaBeouf and Pugh.

Florence Pugh kept her distance from director Olivia Wilde at the premiere. Picture: Getty

According to Variety, during the actual screening on Monday, Pugh refused to make eye contact with the director as the audience gave her a standing ovation, and instead danced with co-star Nick Kroll.

Florence Pugh refuses to make eye contact with Olivia Wilde during the 4-minute #Venezia79 standing ovation for #DontWorryDarling. pic.twitter.com/Xi6lJyZHbj

— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) September 5, 2022

To make everything even more awkward, the outlet reported that she then abruptly ended the applause by walking out of the cinema - meaning the rest of the cast and Wilde had to follow her out.

During Monday’s press conference ahead of the premiere at the film festival, Wilde addressed the rumoured scandal with Pugh – and dodged a question about LaBeouf.

Wilde attended the press panel on Monday alongside Styles, Pine, and actress Gemma Chan.

A journalist asked Wilde to “clear the air” about a “falling out” with Pugh, who was absent – as previously expected – from the press event.

“Florence is a force, and we are so grateful that she is able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune,” Wilde said.

“I know as a director how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day, so I’m very grateful to her and Denis Villeneuve for helping us – we’re really thrilled we’ll get to celebrate her work tonight.

“I can’t say enough how honoured I am to have her as our lead. She’s amazing in the film,” Wilde went on.

“As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds itself. I don’t feel the need to contribute. I think it’s sufficiently well-nourished.”

Don’t Worry Darling stars Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, Chris Pine and is directed by Olivia Wilde. Picture: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Styles and Wilde – who have been dating for nearly two years – were noticeably spread out between Chan and Pine during the panel and photo call.

Adding fuel to the fire, when Pugh did turn up for the premiere, she and Wilde were separated by other cast members at all times and had no direct interaction.

Pugh and Wilde were separated on the red carpet. Picture: Kate Green/Getty Images

But Pugh (right) happily cosied up to her fellow co-stars Sydney Chandler (left) and Gemma Chan (centre). Picture: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

It’s been reported that Wilde’s relationship with Styles during filming caused friction between her and the lead actress. Picture: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Both Wilde’s and Pugh’s stylists then fanned the flames even further, posting subtle references to the stars’ feud.

Following the press conference, Wilde’s stylist, Karla Welch, took to her Instagram Story to share a scenic picture with the words: “There’s always more to the story...”

Just hours later, Pugh’s stylist, Rebecca Corbin Murray, shared a series of pictures of Pugh dressed for the premiere, and captioned it “Miss Flo” - in an apparent dig at the director, who referred to the actress by that nickname in the leaked video call with LaBeouf.

Prior to the Venice premiere, rumours had also swirled that Pugh was paid less than Styles, according to the Hollywood Reporter, making $US700,000 ($A1,027,000) compared to Styles’ $US2.5 million ($A3.6 million) – which Wilde denied, saying there was “no validity.”

As for the drama surrounding Shia LaBeouf: He was originally cast in Styles’ role but left the film in the autumn of 2020. Wilde told Variety that LaBeouf was fired from the project, stating his acting process “was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions,” and his departure meant keeping Pugh “safe” on set.

On Monday, the panel moderator shut down a journalist’s question about the actor, stating that it had already been answered because “it’s on the internet,” Variety reported.

However, the Honey Boy actor came back with receipts, including emails where he allegedly explained that he left the film because of a lack of rehearsal time and released a video of Wilde apparently pleading for him not to walk away.

Don’t Worry Darling hits Australian theatres on October 6.

- withtheNew York Post.

Originally published as Debate rages over footage of stars at Don’t Worry Darling premiere