Austin Butler Heroically Defends Zoe Kravitz From Bees With Emma Stone

Look, we’ve all had our fair share of awkward moments on red carpets, but Austin Butler seems to have cornered the market on bee-related chaos. The guy can’t catch a break from these winged menaces, and honestly, it’s becoming the kind of recurring Hollywood storyline that makes you wonder if there’s some cosmic joke at play here.

Austin Butler Battles Bee at Caught Stealing Premiere

At the London premiere of Caught Stealing on Tuesday, August 19th, Austin Butler found himself once again playing the unlikely hero in what’s becoming his signature move: bee defense. This time, his co-star Zoë Kravitz (The Batman) was the target of nature’s tiny terrorists, and Butler didn’t hesitate to step up to the plate. The whole scene played out like something from a slapstick comedy. 

There’s Austin Butler, looking all dapper in his premiere attire, suddenly transformed into some insect bouncer as he tried to shield Kravitz from the persistent buzzing invaders. The poor woman initially tried the classic “wave them away and hope for the best” approach. Still, when that failed spectacularly, she made the wise choice and temporarily retreated from the red carpet battlefield.

But here’s where it gets interesting—Butler didn’t abandon his post. Nope, he stayed right there, playing defense like he was protecting the quarterback in the final seconds of the Super Bowl. The photos captured him literally trying to shoo the bee away while positioning himself as a human shield for his co-star. It’s almost endearingly ridiculous.

Now, if this were an isolated incident, we’d probably chalk it up to bad timing and move on. But Austin Butler apparently has a history with these tiny winged antagonists that would make an entomologist weep with laughter. Back in May at the Cannes Film Festival, Butler found himself in another bee-related predicament, this time with Emma Stone and Pedro Pascal as his unwitting co-stars in nature’s impromptu comedy sketch.

Austin Butler Sets the Record Straight

Butler, clearly tired of being painted as some bee-wielding villain, addressed the controversy during his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. His explanation was refreshingly straightforward and, dare I say, a bit exasperated: “Some things just happen, and you don’t really realize what’s happening in the moment.”

He went on to describe the chaos: “Emma said, ‘Bee, bee, bee!‘ And then I look, and there’s actually a bumblebee that’s attacking… And then Pedro started laughing, and then I started blowing the bee away. That was my reaction.” The poor guy felt compelled to clarify that he “didn’t want to hurt the bee” but acknowledged that the optics made it look like he was “blowing the bee at her.”

It’s almost tragic how seriously he had to defend his bee-defense strategy. The man was trying to be a gentleman and protect his co-star from a potential sting, and suddenly, he’s explaining his insect management techniques on national television. Thankfully, Stone herself weighed in during a June appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, putting the ridiculous controversy to rest once and for all. 

“He is a sweetheart and a half — there is no way he wanted that bee in my face,” Stone told guest host Diego Luna. “He was trying to blow it behind me!” Stone even threw some playful shade at Pedro Pascal, jokingly suggesting that if anyone was responsible for the bee chaos, it was probably him. “I almost guarantee you, if anyone brought the bee, it was Pedro… He probably unleashed that bee.” Because apparently, in Hollywood, even bee attacks can become fodder for friendly roasting sessions.

Final Thoughts

What are the odds that Austin Butler would find himself in not one, but two separate bee-related red-carpet incidents within a matter of months? At this point, he might want to consider carrying some bee spray to his next premiere, because if this pattern continues, he’s going to need his own entomology consultant. Or maybe he should just embrace his new role as Hollywood’s bee whisperer—it’s certainly more interesting than most celebrity side hustles.