Mary Beth Barone knows exactly what she’s doing. After she and Joe Alwyn were spotted walking together in New York City earlier in September, the internet did its usual thing and started planning a wedding. Barone’s response, posted September 22, was an Instagram carousel filled with photos of the two of them and a caption that simply said,“Hard launching this project.”The project?“Still We Met,”a film she wrote and stars in opposite Alwyn. Romance rumors, meet promotional tour.
The timing tracks. Alwyn dated Taylor Swift for six years before their 2023 split, so any sighting of him with a woman becomes a headline within minutes. Meanwhile, reports say he’s casually dating actress Sarah Pidgeon, and Barone has been linked to Lucas Bravo and KJ Apa in recent months, though neither was confirmed. So the actual relationship status here is murky at best. Barone’s response made that irrelevant.
This is the modern celebrity move: never confirm, never deny, just post something clever and let the internet do your marketing for you. One commenter summed it up perfectly, writing,“And the way you drummed up press for this!!! There are easier ways to tell me you’re a classic movie star!”Whether or not there’s a romance, Barone walked away with more eyes on her film than any trailer could deliver.
What do you think: was that caption a genius PR move or just a really good joke? Sound off in the comments.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.