Alia Shawkat Reveals Brad Pitt Didn't Know They're Rumored To Be Dating

Alia Shawkat has opened up about rumors romantically linking her to Brad Pitt. In an interview with The New Yorker, she spoke about her friendship with Pitt and revealed the actor never even knew they were caught up in dating rumors.

“It came in hot and left as fast as it came in,” she said. “It happened during COVID, and I was alone with it. It was so weird. Now it’s like a weird dream, where I’m like, ‘Did that happen?’”

Shawkat said while she found herself wondering if the moment ever happened, Pitt never knew the rumors existed. She revealed the actor only learned about the rumors when she brought them to his attention.

“He had no awareness of it at all,” she said. “Which is so funny. Because he doesn’t read that s**t. I was like, ‘You know everyone thinks we’re dating? And there’s this whole thing, and I’m being followed.’ 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,” she said.

Shawkat further revealed her grandmother has kept an old gossip magazine with a story linking her to Pitt, saying she wanted to keep it as a memento of the moment.

“The other day I was at my grandmother’s house, my father’s mother. She’s been in this country for over thirty years and still barely speaks English. An Iraqi Muslim woman. She’s sitting there, watching her Turkish soap opera. And next to her is this old gossip magazine with Brad’s face, and my face in a small circle. And it says, ‘Brad’s New Girl!’” she recounted.

“I looked at my grandmother, like, ‘Why do you have this?’ She’s like, ‘It’s you and this movie star! And it’s your face.’ I was embarrassed by it. I told her she had to throw it away. And she laughed.”

Shawkat added, however, that while Pitt is a great person, she’s not amused by the attention she received from paparazzi after being spotted with him. “At the time, it was not fun at all. I’m not an actor who has ever dealt with the paparazzi. They don’t know who the f**k I am. There’s something ironic about it,” she added.

In June 2020, Shawkat also addressed the dating rumors in an interview with Vulture. At the time, she recalled waking up one morning and realizing she was trending on Twitter after hanging out with Pitt. “We’re not dating. We’re just friends,” she said.