Austin Butler boldy shuts down dating rumors with Emily Ratajkowski

Austin Butler has attempted to put a stop on dating speculation after being photographed with Emily Ratajkowski, in New York City, telling Vanity Fair, on November 18, the pair are simply just “friends” "who had dinner."

“The true answer is that I have a lot of friends and we’re friends and we had dinner, and that we’re friends,” the 34-year-old actor stated.

The Elvis star said the September outing at the Waverly Inn and subsequent photos created unwanted drama he wished he could avoid, saying, "I just wanted to hide.”

The duo were photographed cozied up in a booth at the West Village’s Waverly Inn, enjoying drinks and chatting.

They were seen again that evening at the afterparty for the New York premiere of Butler’s latest movie, Caught Stealing.

In August, he was seen at the Dragon bar in Paris with Caught Stealing co-star Zoë Kravitz, hanging out after the movie’s red carpet premiere in the city.

Butler made it clear to the outlet that he won’t stop embracing life to prevent people from talking, “I’m going to live a constricted, small life because I’m afraid of what other people are going to say or what they’re going to think?”