Russell Crowe takes to Twitter to squash romance rumours, revealing mystery brunette is an assistant

WHEN photos emerged of Russell Crowe lounging poolside in Mexico with a mystery brunette, the rumour mill went into overdrive — but the Gladiator star soon came out swinging.

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WHEN photos emerged of Russell Crowe lounging poolside in Mexico with a mystery brunette, the rumour mill went into overdrive — but the Gladiator star soon came out swinging.

The Hollywood heavyweight was pictured in Los Cabos with the woman — but talk of any romantic liaison were quickly chopped down to size, with Crowe saying she was his assistant.

He took to Twitter to say he was in Mexico for a meeting, finishing the tweet with #defamersbegone.

Russell Crowe says the “mystery brunette” is just his assistant. Picture: Backgrid

Crowe says he was in Mexico for a meeting. Picture: Backgrid

His assistant sunbathing by the pool. Picture: Backgrid

It isn’t the first time the Aussie actor has had to hose down reports about his supposed love interests, having previously unloaded on Australian magazines that linked him to Terri Irwin and Love Child actor Sophia Forrest.

The 53-year-old was in Mexico on a break from filming his latest project Boy Erased alongside Nicole Kidman in Atlanta.

Been told there are pics of me " on holiday with a young woman " in Mexico #thereforameeting #shesmyassistant #defamersbegone #fakeassnews

— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) October 30, 2017

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The pair enjoyed some downtime at the Los Cabos hotel. Picture: Backgrid

It isn’t the first time he has hosed down reports of romance rumours. Picture: Backgrid

The pair sat on their phones as they enjoyed the sunshine. Picture: Backgrid

While Crowe’s look is a long way from his sand-and-sandals epic days, it’s believed he has put on the weight for his role in the Joel Edgerton-directed flick.

Joking about his changing figure, Crowe has previously said: “The point is, you do have to be prepared to accept that there are stages in life. So I can’t be the Gladiator forever.”