CULTURE

Those Brad Pitt–Charlize Theron Dating Rumors Are Probably Not That True

Nice try, but you won’t fool us this time.

Jan. 21, 2019

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I first learned of this rumor obliquely: through a Daily Mail headline that read “Angelina Jolie Steps Out Amid Brad Pitt Dating Charlize Theron Rumors.” Wait—Charlize, she of Mad Max: Fury Road and Monster, previously engaged to Sean Penn, dating Brad, the former husband of Jennifer Aniston and of Jolie? Jolie’s paparazzi-documented stroll was just a vehicle to re-report this latest gossip.

It was a tabloid report that could have been plucked from a supermarket-aisle rag a decade or two earlier, so precise was it in the generational Hollywood talent involved: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron. Next, they’ll be dragging Leonardo DiCaprio into the fray. (Just kidding, he doesn’t date people his own age.) It first surfaced in The Sun, which quoted an anonymous source who said the two have been “casually dating” for a month now. (It’s a bit of a leap from there to the tabloid’s declaration that the relationship is the actor’s “first serious romance” since his split from Jolie. Serious? Casual? What is truth? What are words?) Per The Sun, they were first introduced via Penn two years ago, and “things have developed.” They were recently spotted hanging out at the Chateau Marmont, noted celebrity haunt. “They were ridiculously touchy-feely, and his arm was around her back,” the source added. “At one point he winked at her.”

But there’s reason to approach the rumors with skepticism, at least for now. Just last fall, it was reported that Theron had reunited with Alexander Skarsgard; they were first linked in 2012, though it’s not clear how true and/or serious any of this ever was. “People can think whatever they want,” Skarsgard told WSJ by way of non-denial. “You hear, ‘Oh, I heard you’re dating so-and-so.’ Sometimes, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I did.’ Sometimes it’s, ‘Never met the person, but give her my number.’” Pitt was falsely rumored to be dating Kate Hudson, though Hudson later said “it was kind of an awesome rumor.” Even further back—six years ago—an extremely fake report that Theron was dating the Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet began circulating in tabloids. They’re both frequently the subjects of dating rumors; those rumors are frequently less than truthful.

Plus, the stalwart defenders of the truth over at Gossip Cop already debunked this one back in October, because despite the most recent reports that Theron and Pitt struck up this relationship in December, apparently this tale has been circulating for a while. Until there’s better sourcing than an anonymous observer at the Chateau Marmont, we’ll continue to approach this one with skepticism. While we’re at it, no, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are not having a baby.