SEXY SCARLETT MAKES JOSH BLUSH
Most guys would be jumping for joy if their girlfriend was named The Sexiest Woman Alive, but Scarlett Johansson receiving the honor in Esquire magazine hasn’t exactly put boyfriend Josh Hartnett in a celebratory mood, as he’s getting increasingly thin-skinned from the merciless ribbing he takes from friends!
“Josh says he could have done without all the hoopla Scarlett’s attracted over this, especially all the stuff he has to put up with,” a close friend tells Star. “People who normally won’t pry into his life are now asking him, ‘So, Josh, do you feel like the king of the mountain, dating The Sexiest Woman Alive?’ It’s shining a light on the two of them that Josh really didn’t want.”
Indeed, while Hartnett 28, generally keeps tight-lipped about his 1-year romance with the 21-year-old Johansson, she herself has become outspoken in her ascension to cover girl status. In addition to being honored by Esquire for her perfect boobs and bum, she graced the cover of the October issue of Vanity Fair and revealed to Allure magazine that she is tested for HIV twice each year. Johansson added that, “I wouldn’t say I’m a serial monogamist,” although she added, “I’m not promiscuous.”
It’s exactly that kind of talk that makes her beau Hartnett cringe, the friend says.
“Josh is so intent on playing it low-key — I tell you, he would rather have a hot poker shoved up his nostril than talk about his sex life,” the friend says. “He says it detracts from his work as an actor.”
And he’s advised Scarlett — with whom he splits time in New York City and Los Angeles — she would be well advised to dial it back a bit herself. After scoring big with rave reviews and 2004 Golden Globe nominations for her films Lost In Translation and Girl With the Pearl Earring, her big-budget film foray in the thriller The Island tanked at the box office and her recent pairing with Hartnett in the film nourish The Black Dahlia — where the couple first met — also didn’t light any fires.
“Josh is a bit older and he can already see it happening — Scarlett is one of the most talented young actresses in Hollywood, but there’s a question of overexposure,” the friend says. “He’s asked her, ‘Do you want to be known for your body or your acting chops?’ Right now, she’s still getting the offers that actresses her age like Lindsay Lohan would die for, but it doesn’t mean it will continue.”
Still, Johansson keeps marching to her own beat even as she attempts to smooth Hartnett’s ruffled feathers, another friend tells Star.
“This is just Scarlett having fun — she’s 21 and sowing her oats,” the friend says. “Of course she loves the attention. But she lets Josh know it isn’t all fun and games for her — and she was making a serious point when she revealed she gets tested for HIV, that everyone else should, too. “Scarlett and Josh are not cut from the same cloth. But they seem to find their happy medium.”
— ROGER HITTS
