Charlize Theron Says She Didn't Ghost Sean Penn

(Image credit: Getty)

published 29 March 16

Is it too late now to say sorry? Because the internet totally latched onto the Charlize Theron ghosting thing and declared it a symptom of our culture's further decline (opens in new tab) (ahem)—except it wasn't true, apparently.

"There is a need to sensationalize things," she said in the April issue of WSJ magazine. "When you leave a relationship there has to be some f*cking crazy story or some crazy drama. And the f*cking ghosting thing, like literally, I still don't even know what it is. It's just its own beast."

For the record, Theron said she didn't stop answering ex Sean Penn's calls and texts—they just decided to separate without drama/possibly causing emotional damage to her son, Jackson, or daughter, August (opens in new tab).

"There was an understanding that I was a single mom with a very young boy who I had to put in a situation where he understood that Mommy dates, but that he does not have a father, you know what I mean?" she said. "You have to be very careful and very honest about that stuff. And Sean was great with all of that."

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Chelsea Peng

Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at MarieClaire.com. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.