CULTURE

Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o, Hollywood’s Perfect Couple, Are Not an Actual Couple

Contrary to popular demand.


Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong'o
George Pimentel/WireImage/Getty Images

In direct defiance of the truly overwhelming number of tweets, Instagram comments, and shouts into the void begging them to date, get married, and live happily ever after, Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o are doing none of the above. On Thursday, the duo attended a special screening of Black Panther in New York City and set the record straight on the nature of their relationship.

When asked about their undeniable chemistry throughout the Black Panther press tour, on social media, and during their staged elevator makeout after the 2019 Golden Globes, Jordan pretended to get down on one knee in front of Nyong’o before telling Entertainment Tonight, “No, we’re good friends, honestly. We’ve known each other a really long time and respect each other, and I love this girl to death. It’s fun.”

Nyong’o agreed, adding, “It’s flattering. At the end of the day, I think it’s such a rare thing to find people you have good chemistry with, and for us to find each other as actors and get to work together, I mean, it makes the work richer—that we actually truly enjoy each other’s company on- and offscreen. I mean, that is a blessing. I’m just counting my blessings that I’m surrounded by people that I have really good chemistry with.”

The costars have denied that their relationship is anything but platonic several times before. In November, Jordan brushed off thirsty fans’ theories about him and Nyong’o as pure fiction. “They’re writing their own soap opera that they want to see happen,” he told USA Today. “Me and Lupita? I love her to death. Beautiful girl, very talented. People write their own narratives—I don’t have any control over that.”

If Nyong’o and Jordan were ever to date, they’d probably have to start at square one since, as Jordan confessed to GQ last November, he doesn’t even know the definition of dating. “My career is awesome. It is going great. There’s other places in my life that I’m fucking lacking at. I’m very mature and advanced in a lot of areas of life. Dating may not be one of ’em. My personal life is not. I don’t really know what dating is,” he said at the time. “How do you go anywhere normal, chill, just getting to know somebody that you just met, that you may not—may or may not—hit it off at all? That part of dating is tough…Now, I’m not saying options aren’t there. I’m not saying that. But as far as, like, the nuance of dating, it’s just not the same.”

Related: Margot Robbie and Michael B. Jordan Are Each Other’s Movie Crushes