NEED TO KNOW
Julia Parker and her roommate Katherine Christen were walking across the Williamsburg Bridge on March 8 while listening to Harry Styles’ newly released album together
A runner stopped them to warn that Styles was approaching on the bridge with Zoë Kravitz, prompting Christen to start recording
Parker ended up hugging Styles after showing him she was listening to his new song, and the video of the moment later went viral on TikTok
For Julia Parker, a casual Sunday walk across the Williamsburg Bridge turned into a moment she describes as almost cosmic.
On March 8 — just two days after the release of Harry Styles’ new album and the night before the singer appeared in the audience during Ryan Gosling’s Saturday Night Live monologue — Parker and her roommate, Katherine Christen, set out on their usual walk from Brooklyn toward the Lower East Side.
“It was the first Sunday above 60 degrees in New York since the summer,” Parker, 25, tells PEOPLE. “If you live in NYC, you know how big of a deal that is. We’ve had such a long winter, so already Kat and I were beaming and saying, ‘This is the best day ever.’”
As they walked across the bridge around 2 p.m., the roommates decided to make the moment even better by listening to Styles’ newly released album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. together through a Spotify Jam session.
At one point, they were playing Parker’s favorite track so far — “Dance No More” — dancing as they walked.
Then something unexpected happened. A runner coming toward them suddenly stopped, grabbed their shoulders and asked, slightly out of breath, if they were Styles’ fans.
“We were like… um yes!!!! Why?” Parker recalls.
The runner quickly explained that Styles, 32, was currently walking on the bridge toward them — alongside actress Zoë Kravitz, 37.
“She said, ‘Okay, I’m warning you that he’s on the bridge right now coming up this way towards you with Zoë Kravitz, so be prepared,’” Parker says.
“I honestly lost feeling in my whole body,” Parker recalls. “I looked down at my phone and realized that holy s—, I’m literally listening to his new album — let alone my favorite song — in this exact moment.”
That’s when Christen immediately started recording on her phone — just in case. Still, Parker didn’t want to interrupt the singer. Instead, she came up with a quick plan.
“My game plan was to just show my phone and point to it and then point to my headphones to signal that I’m listening to the new album,” she says.
Julia Parker and Kat Christen on a walk
Credit: Julia Parker
As seen in the now-viral video Christen captured, Styles immediately reacted.
“He smiled and went in for a fist bump and a hug,” Parker says. “You can kind of hear him say, ‘Let’s go, that’s what I’m talking about!’”
Although the clip cuts off shortly after, Parker says the interaction continued.
“I remember being in shock that he was coming in for a hug, so I asked, ‘Wait, I can hug you?’” she recalls. “And he laughed and said, ‘Of course!’”
Styles then hugged Christen as well.
According to Parker, the singer leaned in to get a better look at her phone and asked what song they were listening to.
“I told him it was my favorite — ‘Dance No More,’” she says. “And he thanked us for listening.”
He then asked both women for their names and gave each of them a handshake.
Christen also complimented Kravitz during the encounter.
“Kat told Zoë that she’s awesome,” Parker says. “Zoë was incredibly sweet, smiling and laughing at the serendipitous moment behind him.”
Harry Styles first bumping Julia Parker
Credit: Julia Parker
After the brief interaction, Parker says everything felt like a blur.
The roommates spoke with two other fans who had also encountered Styles on the bridge and exchanged phone numbers to share photos and videos. Then they did the only thing that seemed logical.
“We walked back to Williamsburg and sat down for a drink,” Parker says. “Honestly, what else were we supposed to do?”
Later, Parker posted the video to TikTok so friends could see it — not expecting much beyond that.
“I didn’t think much about uploading it,” she says. “I don’t really use TikTok like that. I mainly posted it for myself and my friends.”
Instead, the clip quickly spread online, reaching more than 2 million views.
“It’s been surreal seeing it go viral,” Parker says. “The interaction itself felt surreal, and this is just insane.”
Harry Styles walking on the bridge
Credit: Julia Parker
For Parker, the moment felt even more meaningful because it wasn’t the first time she had unexpectedly crossed paths with Styles.
Exactly six months earlier — on Sept. 8, 2025 — she spotted him running near the Williamsburg Bridge. At the time, he ran right past her on a crosswalk, so they didn’t interact directly.
Still, the brief encounter stuck with her. “I remember thinking to myself that everything was going to be okay — that I was in the right place at the right time,” Parker says.
Then, exactly six months later on March 8, she saw him again.
“This time it was the first beautiful day of the year, two days after his album came out, while I was literally listening to my favorite song,” she says. “And we were able to capture the moment.”
“He’s been my number one artist for over a decade,” Parker adds. “Anyone who knows me knows what Harry means to me. We admire him so deeply. He’s very special, and this moment was very special to us.”
Read the original article on People