Lorde Says She Isn’t Dating Jack Antonoff
Because tabloid rumors, like cockroaches, have the vitality to survive a nuclear blast, Lorde, too, has now confirmed that she's not dating Jack Antonoff.
During an Instagram live chat, the usually gossip-averse New Zealander was asked by a fan about the recent speculation over her relationship with the Bleachers frontman, to which she responded, "Guys, no! Jack and I are not dating...I love him. He's awesome, but we're not dating."
Her comments mark the second time the two have denied any romantic entanglement. Antonoff took to Twitter in January to shut down the rumors, which began after he split from longtime girlfriend Lena Dunham at the start of year. "normally i would never address rumors but i resent having the most important friendships and working relationships in my life reduced to dumb hetero normative gossip," he tweeted. "those relationships are deeply important and sacred. with that said, im not seeing anyone. lol."
That seemed to stave off further gossip until earlier this week, when pictures of the pair hugging in Lorde's native New Zealand, where Antonoff’s band opened for Paramore, emerged online.
But while Lorde and Antonoff do admittedly look cozy in the photos, they're also well-documented friends; Antonoff even executive-produced the "Green Light" singer's most recent album, the Grammy-nominated Melodrama, released last year. They also collaborated on Bleachers' 2017 track, "Hate That You Know Me."
Moreover, other snapshots from Antonoff's visit to New Zealand show there was at least one other person present during he and Lorde's now infamous outing: her friend and colleague Justin Warren, who has previously been linked to the 21-year-old musician. The music executive was spotted with Lorde at the beach in 2016 and out in New Zealand last year, but has also shut down dating speculation.
“Ella and I have worked together for years and we’re good friends. Any rumors of us being ‘a pair’ are ridiculous," he told The Herald in 2016, per People. No matter what Warren's relationship is with Lorde, it's clear she and Antonoff weren't on some romantic one-on-one, as earlier reports seemed to suggest.
Could Lorde simply be trying to keep her personal life private? Sure. But she could also just have a few platonic male friends, and we could all have entirely too much time on our hands.
PopCrush Presents: The New A-List