Actress Aliya Shokat, best known for her role as Maeby Funke in Arrested Development, spoke about how Brad Pitt reacted to rumors about their romance , which began to be actively discussed in the press in the fall of 2019. It turned out that the actor was not even aware of what was happening until Aliya herself drew his attention to it.
He didn’t realize it at all, which is quite funny. Because he doesn’t read this nonsense. I told him: “You know, everyone thinks that we are dating. There are a lot of rumors and paparazzi are following me. And he replied:” Sorry. It happens. This happens when you communicate with me “,
– shared Aliya.
Alia and Brad met through a mutual friend – director Spike Jonze, whom Shokat had known since childhood (she started acting early). After that, Pitt introduced her to his friends, and together they attended various cultural events, including exhibitions and performances.
Brad has all kinds of friends from different walks of life, and Alia is one of them. They have similar interests. Brad likes to chat with his friends,
– said then one of the insiders.
However, rumors about the novel did not subside for a long time – they were discussed in 2020.
It happened during the coronavirus pandemic, and I was left alone with it. Everything was so strange, like some kind of dream in which I just wondered: “Did this really happen?”
– Shokat shared her feelings.
The actress said that all her relatives learned about the “novel” from the press. And her paternal grandmother even still keeps a magazine in which an article about Shokat and Pitt was published.
It says: “Brad’s new girl!” And inside are old Instagram photos of me and friends at dinner. There was an article like “All about Alia”. This whole fictional story is about how we healed each other’s mental wounds while spending time together. I asked my grandmother: “Why do you need this?” And she replied: “It’s you and this famous actor! There is your face!” I was confused by this. I told her that she should throw the magazine away, but she just laughed,
– said Shokat.
However, not everything was so fun in this story for Aliya. The actress said that she was frightened by the attention of the paparazzi. Shokat also noted that she was upset that it was rumors about the romance that attracted such attention to her person, and not her professional merits.
It wasn’t fun at all at the time. I’m not one of those actresses who ever dealt with the paparazzi. They don’t know who I am. So there is something ironic about it. This has nothing to do with Brad personally – he’s awesome as hell. But how ironic and silly that the rumor of a romantic relationship with an older white man brought me all this attention and not a twenty-year career. Some of my ridiculous photos got into the press, photographers chased me. Then they just disappeared and now they don’t give a damn
– said Alia.
Shokat also remembered a case when she became trending on Twitter due to the fact that she went to the theater with Brad.
All my friends asked what was going on, sent me photos. I was just stunned. It feels like you’re naked at school: “Oh my God, everyone is looking at me”,
– Alia admitted.
For the first time, Shokat commented on rumors of an affair with Pitt in June 2020. Then in an interview with Vulture, she stated that they are just friends and do not meet. The press soon stopped writing about this couple – at the end of summer 2020, journalists had already switched to information about Pitt ‘s possible romance with model Nicole Poturalski, however, he also lingered on the front pages for a short time. Officially, nothing is known about Pitt’s personal life.