Chris Pine finally reveals what happened during the Harry Styles 'spitgate' saga

It was the mystery that had the internet flummoxed, but now Chris Pine has finally revealed what exactly happened in the Harry Styles "spitgate" saga.

The Don't Worry Darlingco-stars were part of a pretty dramatic press tour which reached a whole new level when the film premiered at Venice Film Festival in September.

This was due to a viral clip from inside the premiere where it appeared that Styles spat on Pine as he went to take his seat beside him at the screening.

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The clip had everyone in a tizzy as internet sleuths zoomed in and slowed down the video, and multiple angles of the moment also emerged.

Both Styles and Pine dismissed the rumours at the time via a representative but now Pine has shared how he found out he was trending for this bizarre reason.

“I was on the plane with my publicist […] we’re flying back from Venice. And I’m sleeping, having a great time on the plane. I love planes," he told Esquire.

“And she wakes me up, in a, you know, in a state. She says, ‘We have to craft a message about what happened in Venice.’ And I’m like ‘About what?’ ‘About Harry spitting on you.’ Which I have no idea what happened.

"She showed me the thing. It does look, indeed, like Harry spitting on me. He didn’t spit on me."

Instead, the pair were just sharing some co-star banter (rather than saliva).

"[I think Harry] leaned down, and I think he said, ‘It’s just words, isn’t it?’" the 42-year-old recalled.

Pine then provided further context on the inside joke he shared with the popstar.

"Because we had this little joke because we’re all jetlagged, we’re all trying to answer these questions, and sometimes when you’re doing these press things, your brain goes all befuddled, you know, you start speaking gibberish, and we had a joke like, ‘It’s just words, man’."

The mystery is finally solved.

Styles previously addressed the speculation at one of his shows soon after the "spitgate" drama as he cheekily told the audience: “I just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine… but fear not, we’re back.”

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