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Home / Entertainment

Harry Styles' escape plan: Former One Direction star reveals how he fled knife-wielding muggers

BANG! Showbiz
2 Mar, 2020 08:13 PM4 mins to read

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Harry Styles leaving BBC Radio 2 in London. Photo / Getty Images.

Harry Styles leaving BBC Radio 2 in London. Photo / Getty Images.

Harry Styles sprinted into oncoming traffic to try to escape his muggers.

The 26-year-old musician was robbed of cash last month when he was mugged on the way home from a friend's house in the Hampstead area of London on Valentine's Day, and he has now opened up on the terrifying details of the ordeal, in which he was threatened with a knife.

Speaking about the incident on the Howard Stern radio show, he said: "I was walking home from a friend's house. I'm five minutes from home, and I kind of see this group of guys who all got their hoods up and their faces covered and stuff and I was like, that's a bit weird.

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"I turn my music off and I'm walking up the street and I keep turning around, and the guys cross the road and I'm like, that's weird ... then I hear shuffling of feet, trying to catch up to me, so I cross the street, and they cross the street.

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"I'm like for f**k sake I think I'm about to get robbed."

The Falling hitmaker claimed the muggers initially tried to sell him marijuana, before demanding he hand over cash and his phone.

He continued: "The guys are like, 'Can we talk to you for a minute' and there's nobody around, my heart's pounding so I'm like, 'Sure'. He's like, 'Do you smoke weed?' And I say no. And he's like 'Do you want some weed?' I said no.

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Harry Styles attends The BRIT Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena last month. Photo / Getty Images.
Harry Styles attends The BRIT Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena last month. Photo / Getty Images.

"And he was like 'What have you got on you'. And they all kind of gathered around me, and I said I haven't got anything. And he's like, 'Stop f***ing around'.

"I had some cash in my pocket, so I said have some cash and I pull out some cash and he takes it from me. And I had my headphone jack sticking out of my pocket and he's like, what's that plugged into?

"I was like, god's sake, it's my phone. So I pull out my phone and I'm thinking ok this is really annoying but I'll wipe it and get a new phone and kind of, whatever ... and then the guy's like, unlock your phone.

"The other one pulls his shirt up and he's got a knife sticking in his pants and I was like s**t."

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Styles performs live on stage at iHeartRadio Secret Session with Harry Styles. Photo / Getty Images.
Styles performs live on stage at iHeartRadio Secret Session with Harry Styles. Photo / Getty Images.

Styles refused to unlock his phone for the thieves, and says he saw a window of opportunity when two cars drove past the scene.

The One Direction star explained: "I just said, 'I'm sorry mate, I can't. I can't unlock my phone', and the guy's like 'You got 10 seconds' and he starts counting them down and I'm like, 'F**k, am i going to unlock my phone? Am I going to give him my phone?'

"So I try to give him my phone and he's like, no you need to unlock it. I was like, I can't, and there's like a little pond behind them and I thought I'd throw it in the pond and be like, neither of us can have it. Then I thought I don't want to p**s them off."

"Then two cars were coming and I felt an opportunity to sprint and run … and I just run into the road and try to stop a car and obviously a mad man runs into the road, you won't let them into your car so they don't let me in, and I try to get another car, they don't let me in."

Harry Styles leaving BBC Radio 2 in London. Photo / Getty Images.
Harry Styles leaving BBC Radio 2 in London. Photo / Getty Images.

Although he didn't manage to get into a car, Harry was able to take the chance and continue running into his village, where he was safe.

He said: "Then I just turned and ran back towards the little village area where I live. So I just sprinted but usually when I'm out walking I'm wearing running stuff and this was the one time I was wearing like corduroy flairs and shoes I was like, 'I'm going to have to f***ing sprint all the way up this hill.

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"I just sprinted and I guess because they had cash they ended up turning around."

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