Alia Shawkat Clears Up Brad Pitt Dating Rumors After 7 Years

Just Friends, Nothing More

Alia Shawkat is putting the Brad Pitt dating rumors to bed, nearly seven years after the rumor mill started spinning. During a recent appearance on Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live,” the 37-year-old actress behind “Blink Twice” decided it was time to set the record straight about her friendship with the Oscar-winning actor.

Cohen brought up the gossip that erupted after paparazzi spotted Shawkat and Pitt, 62, hanging out together multiple times in 2019 and 2020. The sightings ranged from casual In-N-Out runs to attending art exhibits and concerts. It was the kind of repeated public interaction that gets tabloids writing headlines and fans tweeting theories.

“I was obsessed with the Brad Pitt dating rumors,” Cohen admitted during the August 16 interview, and fellow guest Kristen Stewart chimed in that she too was “enthralled” by the speculation.

Shawkat’s response? She reached for her cocktail and set things straight. “No, he’s just my friend. We became friends,” she explained matter-of-factly. “[Filmmaker] Spike Jonze introduced us. It sounds all very chic and Hollywood. But we met, and he’s really into art, and he’s very cool, and we became friends.”

The Pitt Effect

She went on to make a hilarious observation that probably resonates with anyone who’s ever been photographed standing next to a major celebrity: “Everyone thought we were dating, because if you stand next to him, everyone thinks you’re dating. Like, even his own mother.”

It’s a fair point. Some people have an aura that makes the tabloid machine work overtime, and Brad Pitt definitely falls into that category.

Cohen tried to lighten the mood by suggesting that there were definitely worse dating rumors to have circulating about yourself. Shawkat agreed, which makes sense. In the grand scheme of entertainment gossip, being linked to one of Hollywood’s most famous men could be seen as a compliment, even if it’s completely false.

Back in November 2019, a source close to Pitt had already addressed the rumors with People magazine, stating that “absolutely nothing romantic is going on” after the pair attended Kanye West’s “Nebuchadnezzar” opera show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

Pitt Had No Idea

What’s particularly amusing is that Pitt apparently had zero awareness of the entire situation. Shawkat revealed to The New Yorker in January 2022 that when she finally told him about all the dating speculation and the paparazzi following her, his response was surprisingly casual.

“I was like, ‘You know everyone thinks we’re dating? And there’s this whole thing, and I’m being followed,’” Shawkat recalled. “And he was like, ‘I’m sorry. It happens. If you hang out with me, it happens.’ He had no awareness of it at all.”

It’s a glimpse into how differently celebrities and the general public experience fame and media attention. What consumes headlines for weeks might fly completely under a major actor’s radar depending on where they’re focusing their energy.

One person who wasn’t upset about the rumors? Shawkat’s grandmother, who was apparently thrilled by the whole ordeal. “She saved the Us Weekly I was on the cover of,” Shawkat told Cohen with obvious affection.

These days, the actors have moved on to other relationships. Pitt has been romantically linked to jewelry designer Ines de Ramon since late 2022, while Shawkat has been with Phil Burgers since at least late 2023, when they welcomed their first child together.

Sometimes the best friendships are the ones that get completely misunderstood by the world watching from the outside.

Source: HuffPost