For years, one of Hollywood’s most persistent celebrity rumors has centered on Alia Shawkat and Brad Pitt. The pair were photographed together often enough between late 2019 and 2020 that fans became convinced there was something romantic happening behind the scenes. Now, nearly seven years later, Shawkat is finally putting the speculation to rest—with plenty of humor along the way.
While appearing on Watch What Happens Live to promote her new film The Wrong Girls alongside Kristen Stewart, Shawkat was asked about the headlines that followed her and Pitt for months. Host Andy Cohen admitted he had been fascinated by the rumors, opening the conversation by saying, “I was obsessed with the Brad Pitt dating rumors. How did they start? How did that come to be?”
“Oh God, of course you were,” Alia replied, drawing laughs from the audience, while Stewart chimed in with, “Me too. I was enthralled.”
Rather than brushing off the question, Shawkat leaned into it.
“This is my favorite question to get asked. Um, no. He’s just my friend. We became friends. 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. And everyone thought we were dating, because if you stand next to him, everyone thinks you’re dating. Like, even his own mother.”
The actress’s explanation matches what sources said years ago when the rumors first surfaced. Although Shawkat and Pitt were frequently seen attending art exhibitions, concerts and casual outings together around Los Angeles, multiple reports at the time maintained that the relationship was purely platonic.
Still, that didn’t stop tabloids—or the internet—from turning every public appearance into a dating headline.
One unexpected fan of the rumors turned out to be someone much closer to home.
“My grandmother saved Us Weekly. I was on the cover of it. There was a really bad photo, it was him and me being like ‘ooh!’ And they were like ‘Who’s the new girl?’ And my Arabic grandmother [was excited]. I was like ‘I’ve been working in film for 30 years, you’ve never seen anything, but you love this.’”
The story quickly became one of the night’s funniest moments, highlighting just how surreal the media frenzy felt from Shawkat’s perspective. Despite building an acclaimed career with projects including Arrested Development, Search Party and now The Wrong Girls, it was a tabloid cover alongside one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars that caught her grandmother’s attention.
Andy Cohen couldn’t help but point out that there are certainly worse celebrities to be romantically linked with.
“Again, it’s only cred for you, as far as I’m concerned,” he joked.
“Totally. He’s great, he’s the coolest,” Shawkat responded.
