Michael B.Jordan is famous for so many things – he’s famous for being a bona fide movie star in Black Panther, Creed and Creed II. He’s famous for doing smaller films like Fruitvale Station. He’s famous for his modeling contracts and endorsements and his interviews and activism. And he’s sort of infamous for always ending up surrounded by white women. It doesn’t matter to me, but that reputation bothers him, as does the online criticism that he’s regularly in the company of a “boatful of Beckys.” So, MBJ is in Sundance to promote an animated web series called gen:LOCK, plus he’s promoting a new TV series called David Makes Man for OWN. Everybody was in Sundance at the end of last week and through the weekend. Everybody including… Kiki Layne, the star of If Beale Street Could Talk. She’s also in town for Sundance, promoting Native Son. And so this happened….
Michael B. Jordan and Kiki Layne had a flirty Friday night, according to an onlooker. The Black Panther star, 31, and the If Beale Street Could Talk breakout, 27, were both at the Tao nightclub pop-up in Park City, Utah — where a fellow partygoer spotted them interacting.
“Michael and Kiki were super flirty all night,” the onlooker tells PEOPLE. “He spent literally all night talking and focused on her.”
Jordan arrived with an entourage around 11:30 p.m., when he was escorted to a table, the insider explained. There, the actor partied with Gerard Butler, 49, before turning his attention to Layne at the pop up, where guests drank Casamigos. Near the end of the night, Jordan “left the club first and she followed,” the source says. Reps for both stars — who are in Park City for the annual Sundance Film Festival — did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
I hope it’s true – MBJ has sounded very single in recent interviews, and from a purely Hollywood-career perspective, Kiki would raise her profile so much if she dated MBJ. She’s already in an Oscar-nominated film, obviously. And she’s already wearing Dior nonstop on the red carpet. She’s definitely up-and-coming in her own right, but let’s also be real: it would help her career if she dated MBJ. It would help him too – she’s beautiful and talented and it would be a good sign if he could land someone smart/pretty like Kiki. I mean, the last person he was seriously connected to was Kendall Jenner. Kiki is definitely a step up. I hope it’s all going down at Sundance!!
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
I am HERE for this coupling! Kiki was great in In Beale Street Could Talk. Please gossip gods, give us this eye candy!
And he was spotted getting flirty with Laura Harrier at the SAGs. He deserves all the success he’s enjoying, he’s been turning in stellar performances since his teens. And MBJ with a Jenner? Lie, LIE! Take that back!
It’s not. He did this with Lupita N’yogo and Issa Rae. Basically Blackfishing but instead of pretending to be Black like those IG models in Sweden, he leaks stuff about him “getting flirty” with beautiful well-known Black women because, as you said, the rumors of him having a preference for white women bother him.
But the dude has a preference. And it looks more like Kylie Jenner and Demi Rose than it does Lupita. And that’s fine! But enough with the performativeness 🤷🏿♀️
Year I thought the exact same thing as I read the title. Sure he’s probably attracted to Kiki (who wouldn’t be?) but he also made sure that EVERYONE knows about it. He’s tired of social media jokes about him not dating black women okay? Lmao
This, this, this! Maybe I’m just a cynic, but to me this totally reads as a setup. He wants to shake his reputation for having a preference – so as not to alienate his black fan-base. I’m pretty happy for Kiki Layne though – hopefully this gossip garners her more attention and helps to grow her career even more (as I believe it’s intended to.)
This is so true and you can see right through it! Also I want so much better for Kiki than MBJ – I enjoy him and his work but that interview where he said he could smash any woman is still giving me f–kboy warnings however many years later
Why did I think he was gay??? I’m so far out of the loop. Must be I was thinking of some other son with a (more) famous dad?
I thought he was gay too. I think all these women are just fodder for the press.
This is my first thought. If he’s going to play this game, I hope he steps it up for Kiki. I mean, would one blurry pap shot of them “getting cozy” in a “private” room of some chic restaurant (where he pays the bill!) hurt anybody? Nope! Whaddabout a couple of well-placed “sightings” at an exclusive ski chalet, or a cute story about them “sneaking off” to do a townie thing while she “wears his jacket”?? I doubt it! Then when it’s done, he can let her declare that she’s still single and not so into a the thought of a relationship at this point — though she had *so* much fun at Sundance — and he can resume his regularly scheduled lifestyle.
I mean, we’ve seen and documented how he do, so if he just changes a few basic things, it could shake up the narrative. A little bit.
It’s very insulting and unnecessary. I’ve seen several photos of Michael at private parties and on vacation. He most definitely has a type and it’s not dark black women.
Between this story and the planted story about how her people are maneuvering for her to play Storm once XMen is rebooted, it’s pretty clear Kiki came to play the game. And I kind of love it. 😂
I couldn’t help but notice the Casamigos mention in the blurb…maybe whoever planted it had more than one agenda? Like you, I kind of love the hustle.
Yep… and it fits the narrative he wants to push, too.
More power to them. If we have to have PR couples, I certainly don’t mind this match-up.
I’m all here for Kiki being Storm. The Storm of the comic books had a Kenyan mother and and African American father; she was not biracial or mixed, which is the default in Hollywood for Black woman. I’ve always found Storm super boring in the movies thanks to the limited acting skills of Halle Berry and more recently Alexander Shipp. Storm married Black Panther and I’m going to need an actress that can do her justice.
My good friend had a booty call situation with him for around a year during his Fantastic Four days…she’s about the basic-est Becky you can be. Blonde hair, blue eyes. He was really sweet to her though and would return texts even after he started “blowing up.” But yeah, I firmly believe he has a type.
👀
More details please
He REALLY needs to stop this.
We see right through these stunts. It’s starting to make him look crazy at this point. He should just live his truth and stop trying to insult our intelligence.
Saw Beale St last night omg – she was terrific and her gorgeous co-star, Stephan James, too. The movie was incredibly moving. Can’t stop thinking about it.