Lena Dunham Explains Awkward Kissing Photo With Brad Pitt

Lena Dunham is setting the record straight when it comes to the infamous photo from last year in which she appears to catch Brad Pitt by surprise with a kiss at the July 2019 London premiere of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The actress and writer revealed there was a far less nefarious back story to the photo than people initially ascribed on Monday’s Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

“Well, the way the internet read it was I had somehow physically accosted him, causing him a great deal of stress,” Dunham said of the public response to the photo. “I would never force a kiss on Brad Pitt. I respect him far too much as an artist and a friend.”

The Girls creator explained that the kiss was completely normal at the moment and that she and Pitt bonded later than evening over pizza and a special gift. “Later that night, because he knew I felt nervous, he took me into a room, and we secretly ate pizza, and I told him I like his ring, and he gave it to me. And every time I wear it, something amazing happens,” Dunham said, showing the jewelry on camera.

Calling Pitt a “really special person,” Dunham said he made her feel completely at ease when she was nervous during her first day on set of the Quentin Tarantino film. “I actually had the pleasure of knowing him a little bit previously, so I wasn’t going in totally blind, but when I showed up to set, I didn’t have some major megastar part. I was in a really great ensemble of girls. I expected, you know, a friendly hello from Brad,” she recalled.

“I think what happened was the best thing that’s maybe ever happened to me,” she continued. “He was doing a scene where he was parking a car, and he’s supposed to get out and look around, and he looked around and saw me at the edge of frame and came over and picked me up and spun me around. And it was like — it was like in one of those movies where the nerd shows up at the prom and the hottest guy at school is like, ‘Would you care to dance?’ … He’s a truly kind person who can read the room, and I was super nervous because I was around so many idols of mine, and he made me feel pretty cool.”