Marion Cotillard Will Not Indulge in Brad Pitt Affair Rumors, Thank You Very Much

Promoting Allied, the World War II spy drama opening next week, [November 23] has put Marion Cotillard in a delicate—and highly unfair—position. Because her costar Brad Pitt is divorcing Angelina Jolie in salacious fashion, and Cotillard was initially rumored to be the cause of their split (it couldn’t have been Pitt’s own failings, no way) she will likely be fielding questions about Pitt and those unfounded rumors for the duration of the Allied press sweep. Never mind that they’re not true—as she was forced to announce when the Brangelina divorce broke, she’s pregnant with her second child with her partner of nine years, Guillaume Canet—or she’s an Oscar-winning actress who surely has more interesting things to talk about.

It began this morning on the Today show, with Matt Lauer asking Cotillard, as tactfully as possible, what life lessons she may have learned from the experience of being linked to Pitt while working on the film. But Cotillard, a lesson in grace, didn’t really bite, nor even raise an eyebrow, saying, essentially, that being painted the femme fatale in the latest fake tabloid narrative didn’t exactly inspire any sweeping aha moments. “I never take anything personally when it doesn’t concern me and so I didn’t take it personally because I had nothing to do with those rumors or situation,” she said. When Lauer followed up, she repeated her stance: “I don’t give energy to this and it was a wonderful, wonderful experience working with such a visionary director and an amazing actor, so that’s all that matters.” French women, they really do do it better.

The Today exchange came after an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night, during which Cotillard was asked, shocker, about her sex scenes with Pitt. Again, she was characteristically cool. “Let’s imagine, you’re with your wife, in bed or anywhere, here, and then all those people are watching. Yeah, cameras, like fifty people are watching. Do you still find it sexy?” she replied.

Now might be a good time to ask: Whatever happened to #askhermore?