Update: It Was Brad Pitt’s Nude Pictures That Didn’t Impress Shania Twain Much
Back in the late ’90s, when Shania Twain released her single “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” Brad Pitt was at one of his many peaks, dating Gwyneth Paltrow, still somewhat fresh off an Academy Award nomination, and gearing up to star in Fight Club—hence Twain’s name drop in her lyrics about a man who just won’t get the message, “Okay, so you’re Brad Pitt/That don’t impress me much.”
These days, though, Pitt is not doing so hot: Since his wife, Angelina Jolie, announced that they are no more, recently, the Hollywood god has been forced to come out as painfully human—that is to say, to reveal himself as a 53-year-old father of six who’s not only in the midst of a divorce, but of a long-neglected go at sobriety after having abused drugs and alcohol for decades. (“I can’t remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn’t boozing or had a spliff, or something. Something,” he told GQ Style in a shockingly honest cover story earlier this year.)
None of that, though, seems to have made much of an impression on Twain, because it’s at this tortured time in Pitt’s life that she’s finally chosen to reveal the real reason why she included Pitt’s name in her single—which is apparently not because he “got the looks,” as she originally completed the lyric about two decades ago.
“I remember I had a girl friend visiting me and it was near Christmas and we were baking cookies. I was writing this album and there was a scandal of [Pitt] and Gwyneth [Paltrow] where there was naked photos of him,” Twain told Billboard, describing paparazzi images of the pair laying out in the West Indies that appeared in Playgirl, which Pitt then sued.
And while Pitt eventually won over the magazine, apparently he didn’t win over Twain: “This was like all the rage,” she recalled. “I just thought, ‘I don’t know what all the fuss is about.’ I’m like, well that don’t impress me much, I mean what is all the fuss. We see people naked every day. That’s really what I thought.”
Still, Twain insisted, she “wasn’t picking on Brad Pitt”: “That was just the association in that moment and things we make fusses about and whatever. Of course, it could have been any gorgeous guy.”
And of course, this could have been any old bit of gossip Twain had up her sleeve to promote the release of Now, her first studio album since 2002—a publicity tactic that Pitt, who’s spent a lot of time next to Jolie, who is a famously guileful PR operator, should understand. And surely, it don’t impress him much, either.
A Photographic Guide To Everyone Brad Pitt Has Dated
A pre-divorce Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt arrive at the premiere of By The Sea in Hollywood, in November 2015. The couple were together from 2005-2016.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie attend the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence and Conflict in London in June 2014.The couple were together from 2005-2016.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who met on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, arrive for the premiere of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). The couple were together from 2005-2016.
Where it all began: Brad Pitt and then-girlfriend Robin Givens in Los Angeles. The couple were together from 1986-1987.
Actress Shalene McCall and Brad Pitt enjoyed a brief dalliance after meeting on the set of TV show Windmills of the Gods. The couple dated in 1987.
McCall and Pitt are again spotted in Beverly Hills. The couple dated in 1987.
Brad Pitt and Jill Schoelen, who dated for one year, are spotted by paparazzi. The couple were together from 1988-1989.
On-set co-stars, Brad Pitt and Jill Schoelen enjoyed a brief relationship that drew great media attention. The couple dated in 1987.
Brad Pitt and Jill Schoelen at the 20/20 Club in Los Angeles. The couple dated in 1987.
Brad Pitt & Christina Applegate during 1989 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, California. The couple were together from 1988-1989.
Christina Applegate and Brad Pitt spotted again in 1989. The couple were together from 1988-1989.
Brad Pitt and actress Juliette Lewis enjoyed a lengthy long relationship in the public eye. Here they are in 1991. The couple were together from 1989-1993.
Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis at the AMC Theater in Santa Monica, for the premiere of Thelma & Louise (1991). The couple were together from 1989-1993.
Brad and Gwyneth Paltrow attend the Hamlet Broadway Play Opening Night Performance in 1995, in New York City. The couple were together from 1994-1997.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt, 1996. The couple were together from 1994-1997.
Brad Pitt and girlfriend actress Gwyneth Paltrow arrive before the 68th Annual Academy Awards on March 25, 1996 in Los Angeles, California. The couple were together from 1994-1997.
Brad Pitt and actress Gwyneth Paltrow attend The Devil’s Own New York City premiere on March 13, 1997, in New York City. The couple were together from 1994-1997.
Actress Claire Forlani and actor Brad Pitt attend the 50th Annual Writers Guild of America Awards in 1998, in Beverly Hills, California. The couple dated in 1998.
Brad and Jennifer attend the Rock Star premiere in 2001 in Hollywood. The couple were together from 1998-2005.
Actress Jennifer Aniston and actor Brad Pitt attend The Mexican Westwood premiere in 2001. The couple were together from 1998-2005.
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, married for five years, appear here at the 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, in 1999. The couple were together from 1998-2005.
The couple, thought to be an American institution, divorced in 2005. Here the couple make an appearance at the 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards. The couple were together from 1998-2005.
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