Alia Shawkat Spills On THOSE Brad Pitt Dating Rumors - He 'Had No Awareness At All' About It!

Brad Pitt is NOT tuned in to his own hype.

You may recall back in 2020 when the Oscar winner began generating romance rumors with the much-younger performer Alia Shawkat. The unlikely pairing caused quite a stir, partially because it was the first time Brad was really photographed with a woman since his split from Angelina Jolie. Alia went on record insisting the duo were just friends, but that didn’t do much to quell speculation.

The Arrested Development alum wasn’t thrilled about all the attention that stemmed from their friendship. Asked in a new interview with the New Yorker whether she was still being followed by paparazzi, she replied:

“Thank God, no. It came in hot and left as fast as it came in. 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?”

As for Brad, though, she revealed:

“He had no awareness of it at all. 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.”

The 32-year-old reflected:

“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. It has nothing to do with Brad as a person – he’s a great f**king guy. But of course, the idea of me being romantically involved with an older white guy is what gets me the most attention. Not a twenty-year career. That’s what gets me. And it’s ironic and gross and stupid. But yeah, again, it was super brief. And I was fine.”

She admitted:

“I was shaken up by it because I have a studio in Highland Park where I go every day. And I was, like, ‘There are these photos of me carrying way too much s**t to get inside. There are all these embarrassing photos, they had followed me there.’ Then they just disappeared, and now they don’t give a s**t.”

Yet even though interest in the odd couple’s relationship has died down, it hasn’t disappeared completely. The Search Party star shared:

“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!’ And then on the inside it’s old Instagram photos of me and friends at dinner. It was like, ‘ALL ABOUT ALIA.’ This whole made-up story about how we were healing each other by spending time together. 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.”

LOLz! The world may lose interest, but grandma never will!

Seriously though, we can understand Alia’s frustration. It must be bizarre to suddenly find yourself under the microscope, especially after years of flying under the radar in the industry. On the other hand… this is Brad Pitt we’re talking about! And a post-divorce Brad, no less. She had to expect some people might be interested!

[Image via WENN/Avalon]