Tuesday 6 September 2022 06:23 PM Body language expert rules Harry Styles DID NOT spit on Chris Pine amid film ... trends now
A body language expert has told DailyMail.com that a now viral clip that appears to show Harry Styles spitting on Chris Pine's lap is 'misleading.'
The video posted online showed the former One Directioner, 24, bend over Pine before sitting down, a motion which some have speculated is Styles spitting on the movie star.
Immediately after, Pine — who was clapping as Styles took his assigned seat next to him at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday — seemed to stop in his tracks, looks down at his leg and sticks out his tongue in disbelief.
The laughing actor, 42, then shoots an amused look back at the popstar - who is too busy adjusting his jacket and smiling around the room to notice Pine's cheeky reaction.
But Judi James, a body language expert, has now said Pine would have to be 'the master of self-control' if the As It Was singer did, in fact, gob on him.
She said that at the beginning of the video, Pine is seen 'sitting with a comfortable leg splay, and drops what looks like a pen down into his lap to free his hands up to clap.
'If we watch his body language, and ignore Harry's we can see him suddenly pause and look down in what could be reflective disbelief or surprise,' James told DailyMail.com. 'It is a brief moment before he grins again, chewing on some gum himself, and grabs the pen up before closing his eyes in a long blink.'
Then, she said, if you look at Styles as he arrives he 'fiddles with his jacket and hails someone behind him before throwing himself back into his seat to play with his phone,' apparently ignoring Pine.
'If the Spit-gate rumors were true, then Chris Pine would have to be the utter master of self control,' James said. 'If he can be spat on and only need a long blink to contain his reactions and control himself from what for most might be a spontaneous reaction of anger and shock, then he is an exceptional man.'
Based on this evidence, James instead suggested Pine may have seen that the pen he dropped in his lap 'marked his cream outfit,' or he could 'have been reacting to Harry’s apparent ignoring of both himself and Olivia' Wilde, the director of the film.
Others have also suggested that Pine was just fiddling with his sunglasses, which were placed between his legs.
'We shouldn't accuse Harry on this evidence alone,' James concluded, 'and unless he or Chris relates otherwise, it's probably better to assume it was a misleading clip.'
Neither Pine nor Styles has commented publicly on the ongoing spit controversy, which is just the latest installment of drama surrounding the actors in Don't Worry Darling - who have stirred up a barrage of gossip ahead of the film's premiere.
When Styles gets to his seat, he slightly bends over Pine before sitting down, a motion which some have speculated is Styles spitting on Pine
Immediately after Styles made that motion, Pine abruptly stops clapping and looks to his lap before he starts laughing as the brief video comes to an end
It remains unclear whether Styles did, in fact, spit on Pine's lap, but it adds to the contentious moments behind the scenes of the upcoming film
Another video from Variety's Ramin Setoodeh shows another angle of Styles taking his seat, and seemingly lasts a few seconds longer
Styles has been known to spit during his performances, with fans of the former One Direction star embracing his routine at concerts in which he would take a gulp of water and spit it at the crowd in a move known as 'the whale.'
But another video from the so-called Spit-gate incident taken by Variety's Ramin Setoodeh shows another angle and seems to last a few seconds later.
It appears to show Pine and Styles chatting briefly after the apparent incident, though it's unclear what was said during the interaction.
Styles seems to be having a relatively polite conversation with his costar, which seems unlikely if he had just spat on him.
Styles has been known to spit during his performances, with fans of the former One Direction star embracing his routine at concerts in which he would take a gulp of water and spit it at the crowd in a move known as 'the whale.'
Still, the viral incident is just the latest controversy facing the stars of Wilde's film, Don't Worry Darling.
In 2021, troubled star Shia LaBeouf was fired from the movie after reportedly clashing with Wilde, the director of the film, on set. Something that Wilde appeared to confirm in an interview with Variety.
'His process was not conductive to the ethos that I demand in my productions,' she said. 'He has a process that, in some ways seems to require a combative energy and I don't personally believe that is conductive to the best performances.
'I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them.'
However,
