“It was like this weird, optical illusion.”

Olivia Wilde has opened up about how the infamous Harry Styles–Chris Pine ‘spit-gate’ moment unfolded behind the scenes, during a recent appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy.

For the blissfully unaware, let’s cast our minds back to the 2022 Venice Film Festival amid the chaotic press run for Don’t Worry Darling.

As Harry Styles made his way to his seat next to Chris Pine, footage began circulating online that had many convinced he spat at his co-star. Things soon escalated quickly with slow-motion breakdowns, frame-by-frame analysis, and an internet spiral that refused to die down.

Chris pine just wondered where his sunglasses were after the applause. And he zoned out (likes he’s been doing all day) and realised it’s in his lap. So I am sorry to say harry styles did not spit on him. pic.twitter.com/7b4GoCvnHJ

Wilde, who directed the film and was dating Styles at the time, has previously denied that anything like that actually happened. Speaking on Wednesday’s (17 June) episode of Call Her Daddy, she revisited the moment the rumours first reached her.

“I remember when we got to the point of ‘spit-gate’, we were like ‘Okay!’” She told host Cooper.

Wilde went on to describe how the situation unfolded, saying the footage “really looked like” Styles did spit on Pine, even if that wasn’t the reality.

“We did the Venice Film Festival – we’re like ‘that was fun.’ We flew home, and we got to New York, and then it was like, ‘um, you guys did, um… Harry, did you spit on Chris?’” She recalled. 

Wilde called the footage a “weird, optical illusion,” adding: “But then the fact that it turned into this massive thing. I was like ‘Ok, we’ve tilted into a world of like insanity, complete surrealism.’”

Wilde and Cooper also joked about just how far the internet took it, with endless edits and breakdowns dissecting every angle of the moment.

Ultimately, though, Wilde tried to convince herself it was just her “noticing these things”.

olivia wilde just acknowledged spitgate on call her daddy (i’m procrastinating at the library) NEVER WOULD I HAVE THOUGHT

Now, this isn’t the first time ‘spit-gate’ has been addressed. 

While reps for both Pine and Styles dismissed the claims at the time, Pine also later shut it down directly.

"[My publicist] showed me the thing. It does look, indeed, like Harry spitting on me. He didn’t spit on me,” he confirmed in a chat with Esquire.

Instead, he explained the moment was nothing more than light-hearted banter, not saliva-related drama.

"[I think Harry] leaned down, and I think he said, ‘It’s just words, isn’t it?’" the actor recalled, referencing a private joke about being jetlagged during press tours.