HBO's Euphoria is shining light on a conspiracy that has been brewing for many years.
It's unclear how exactly the "Larry Stylinson" rumor got its start, but some One Direction fans have been pushing the narrative for as long as they have been doodling hearts around the boys' faces. Regardless of it's origins, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles have always denied any and all speculation about the romantic nature of their friendship.
So, when HBO aired the sexually explicit animated scene of Tomlinson performing oral sex on Styles, fans were quick to ask if the network ever warned or asked the two men for permission. And, surprisingly, Louis responded to their question.
"I can categorically say that I was not contacted nor did I approve it," he stated.
Whether the scene would've aired after asking for their approval, who knows, but, considering the band's prior comments, HBO likely wouldn't have gotten Harry and Louis' blessing.
In fact, Louis has emphatically denied the rumors on numerous occasions. In a tweet from 2012, he told fans, "Hows this , Larry is the biggest load of bulls--t I've ever heard. I'm happy why can't you accept that. (sic)"
The father-of-one has even been in a relationship with girlfriend Eleanor Calder since 2011, but has had to reiterate, "I am in fact straight."
Then in 2015, Zayn Malik defended Harry and Louis' close friendship and revealed that the speculation has put a strain on how the men interact with one another. "It's not funny, and it still continues to be quite hard for them. They won't naturally go put their arm around each other because they're conscious of this thing that's going on, which is not even true," he explained, without specifically mentioning Harry and Louis. "They won't do that natural behavior."
He added, "There's no secret relationships going on with any of the band members."
After the band decided to take a break, chatter began to fade. However, when Harry released "Sweet Creature" in 2017, the conspiracy theories came back in full force to claim that the romantic song was written about Louis. This, of course, was not an accurate reflection of the song.
While Harry himself admitted the lyrics were about someone, he wouldn't reveal the muse that inspired him. But before people could jump to conclusions, he also stated, "But I think if you really listen to the lyrics I think you can work out if it's really about that or not, and I would lean towards no."
And after all these years, it seems that Louis has realized that no matter how many times he shuts down the rumors, Larry Stylinson likely won't go away. But that doesn't mean his girlfriend needs to be subjected to the "disrespectful" lies. "People can believe what they want to believe," Tomlinson said in 2017. "But I just think it comes across sometimes a little disrespectful to the ones that I love, like Eleanor. I'm so protective over things like that, about the people I love."
So maybe it's time to put the Larry Stylinson rumors to bed once and for all.