Alia Shawkat Says She's 'Not Dating' Brad Pitt: 'We're Just Friends'

After photos surfaced in November of Brad Pitt out at an art exhibit with Arrested Development actress Alia Shawkat, the internet couldn't help but speculate that the two were a couple. But Shawkat, 31, insists their relationship remains platonic.

"We're not dating," she told Vulture in an interview published Friday. "We're just friends."

Soon after the art exhibit sighting, the Search Party star and the actor, 56, also turned up together at comedian Mike Birbiglia's one-man show, a Thundercat concert and Kanye West's "Nebuchadnezzar" opera show.

"All my friends were like 'What's going on?' and sending me photos," Shawkat recalled to Vulture. "I just felt overwhelmed. It's that feeling of being naked in school, like, Oh my God, everyone's looking at me."

Despite working as an actress since age 9, Shawkat referred to the amount of attention she received while spending time with Pitt as "uncontrollable."

"I've gotten press, but not like that," she added.

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Sources told PEOPLE at the time that Pitt and Shawkat's relationship didn't go beyond friendship.

One source said the two "are just friends — absolutely nothing romantic is going on."

Another said that Pitt boasts numerous friends who share his interest in art. "Brad loves the art world," the insider told PEOPLE. "He has a large group of artist friends that he hangs out with. Several are women, but he isn't dating them. He just loves surrounding himself with good friends"

Ultimately Pitt is "very much about keeping friends as friends," the source concluded.

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