No, former adult video star Mia Khalifa is not dating Mr. Bean actor Rowan Atkinson, despite what several viral posts claim.
In a post shared on X, formerly Twitter, the 33-year-old former Complex host addressed images circulating online, which appeared to show her enjoying a holiday in the south of France with the 71-year-old British actor and comedian.
“Guys I am dating a fool but it’s not Mr. Bean,” wrote Khalifa, who has kept her current relationship private.
Why did people believe for a moment that Khalifa was in a relationship with Atkinson? Blame artificial intelligence (probably) and several high-profile accounts on social media.
Last week, a satirical Instagram account (@thedudehumorreport) shared a post claiming the two have been quietly dating since last year. The post, which went viral, included a fake, likely AI-generated image showing the pair on a yacht, and cited sources claiming they were dating. The post was, like everything the account posts, a joke, but there were several comments on the post and others like it, either buying into it or wishing for it to be true.
However, posts elsewhere on X seemed to take the satirical post seriously. One even used additional fake images to show the pair enjoying a bottle of champagne on a yacht, with Atkinson decked out in a Gucci jacket and chains.
Atkinson, for the record, has been in a relationship with Louise Ford since 2013. He shares one child with Ford and two children with his ex-wife, Sunetra Sastry. Khalifa, as her comment implies, has not revealed who she’s currently dating, but was previously linked to Puerto Rican rapper Jhayco, Swedish chef Robert Sandberg, and was married to her high-school boyfriend from 2011 to 2016.
While Khalifa has made it clear that she isn’t in love with Mr. Bean, Atkinson has not responded to the spread of the fake images.
