So about those Brad Pitt dating rumors — Alia Shawkat clears it up

Hollywood rumour mills never met a friendship they didn’t want to turn into a romance, and Alia Shawkat found herself smack in the middle of one of their favourite stories when she was repeatedly spotted hanging out with Brad Pitt back in 2019. You barely had to blink before the tabloids were convinced they were a new item. Now, years on, Shawkat’s had enough of the whispers — and she’s decided to set the record straight in absolute style.

Alia Shawkat told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live: "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. And everyone thought we were dating, because if you stand next to him, everyone thinks you’re dating. Like, even his own mother."

How it All Kicked Off

The fuss properly started in autumn 2019, when Shawkat and Pitt were seen together on multiple occasions over the course of about four months. Not exactly subtle—there were photos of them at an art show, then at a Ye gig, and (doing things like the rest of us) grabbing a burger at In-N-Out. Cue instant speculation and absolutely manic tabloid headlines. As these things go, social media pounced as well and wouldn’t let go.

For a while, the story just kept doing the rounds, with both fans and press getting positively feverish about the prospect of Pitt and Shawkat quietly dating. All Shawkat could do at that point was watch as what were honestly pretty normal celebrity hangouts were spun up into gossip gold.

Brad Pitt, asked to comment by The New York Times back in November 2019, was pretty dismissive: "I don't know how many women they've said I've been dating the last two or three years, and none of it's true."

The Real Story: Friends, Not Lovers

Fast-forward nearly seven years (which is a lifetime in Hollywood rumour terms) and Shawkat’s finally had the chance to address it herself. When she dropped by Watch What Happens Live with Kristen Stewart to talk about The Wrong Girls, Andy Cohen seized the opportunity and straight-up asked about the Pitt situation. Shawkat's response? Apparently, the whole thing came about thanks to their mutual mate, director Spike Jonze, who introduced them. Pitt’s mad about art, according to her, and so is Shawkat, so they hit it off — platonically, mind.

Rather than shy away from all the attention, Shawkat admits the resulting scandal actually gave her a bit of "cred." As she put it, if you so much as stand near Brad Pitt, you get instant romantic speculation, even from his mum! Not exactly the worst side effect in the world, but, for clarity — no, they weren’t dating, they’re just mates. That’s all there was to it.

Shawkat says the tabloids making her Pitt’s rumoured girlfriend gave her "cred" and an A-list pal, but it never went further.