Steve Granitz/WireImage; Miikka Skaffari/Getty ImagesSean Penn and Charlize Theron seemingly just split up, but is he already romancing Minka Kelly?
That was the rumor after he joined the Friday Night Lights star and some of her friends in celebrating her 35th birthday last month at The French Laundry in Napa Valley, one of the hottest reservations in the culinary world since it opened.
The restaurant is super romantic, so even though they were part of a group, the story somehow turned into the newly single Penn treating Kelly to a pricey dinner as a first date. And though the lack of subsequent sightings caused the rumor to fizzle somewhat, Kelly must have been catching up on her tabloids because she just took to Twitter today to address the speculation that she and Penn, 54, are more than friends.
"Not my nature to address gossip but hoping this last one goes away already. Not dating a friend I had a group dinner with. #sillymedia," wrote Kelly, whose past beaus have included Derek Jeter and Chris Evans.
So there you go.
The twice-divorced Penn is recently back on the market after he and Theron, whom he was reportedly engaged to, parted ways sometime since mid-May. Theron was photographed for the first time since the split news broke just last week, though the figurative show has gone on in her stead. Mad Max: Fury Road was a huge hit and has been one of the best-reviewed movies of the year, and the breakup news was followed by the release of a new trailer for the Oscar winner's next movie, Dark Places, based on the Gillian Flynn novel.