Halle Berry just cleared up a monster rumor.
The 58-year-old actress appeared on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast Monday and denied that she had sex with Billy Bob Thornton when they were filming the 2001 romantic drama “Monster’s Ball.”
“We had this very explicit love scene,” said Berry, whose performance led to her being the first black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.
“There’s an urban legend that we really were f–king. I’ve heard it, and it’s just not true,” she went on. “It’s secretly driven me mad all these years.”
In “Monster’s Ball,” Berry plays grieving widow Leticia Musgrove, who strikes up a romance with corrections officer Hank Grotowski (Thornton). Unbeknownst to them, Hank assisted in executing the man Leticia was married to.
Leticia and Hank connect over their traumas. They go out to dinner and then get drunk at Leticia’s house which leads to them having sex. The raunchy scene is one of the most memorable parts of the film.
On the podcast, Berry complained that her and Thornton’s explicit sex scene caused them to be romantically linked in real life.
“You can’t just be a good actor, and you can’t just make that s–t look real,” Berry said.
The “X-Men” actress also pointed out that Thornton, 69, was married to Angelina Jolie at the time.
“He had a wife, so, you know, all respect,” Berry said. “I know Angie and she ain’t signing off on that s–t. I’m a girls girl. I’ll do a lot of things, but I’m not gonna sleep with your man.”
Thornton has also spoken out about the rumor that he and Berry did it.
“No we’re actors. We do the job that we’re required to do, and we were both very professional about it,” he said on “Sway in the Morning” in 2012, when asked to “dispel the myth” about himself and Berry’s sex scene being real.
“It’s not like you can’t dream though,” Thornton also said with a laugh.
On “Armchair Expert,” Berry also took the opportunity to shut down other rumors about the history of her love life.
“I didn’t date Spike Lee or Eddie Murphy,” she said. “Those are rumors too.”
Additionally, the “Bruised” star mentioned how pro wrestler Ric Flair falsely claimed that they had sex in 1997.
“They gotta link you to somebody. I’ve been married enough times,” the three-time divorcée said. “You don’t need to add on other things to me that have not happened. Just pick from the ones that are there.”
Berry was married to MLB star David Justice, R&B singer Eric Benét and French actor Olivier Martinez.
Since 2020, she’s been in a relationship with singer and record producer Van Hunt.
