Russell Crowe slams claim that he fumbled the audition for 'My Best Friend's Wedding': 'Pure imagination'

• Russell Crowe denied having a bad table read for the 1997 film "My Best Friend's Wedding" on Friday.
• Crowe tweeted the claim was "pure imagination" and wrote that he never auditioned for the film.

Russell Crowe clapped back at director P.J. Hogan's claim that he fumbled his audition for the 1997 film "My Best Friend's Wedding."

The "Thor: Love and Thunder" actor addressed the accusation on Friday by retweeting an article titled "My Best Friend's Wedding director on Russell Crowe's failed audition: 'One of the worst readings I've ever been through.'"

"Pure imagination on behalf of this director," Crowe, 58, wrote on Twitter. "I did not audition for this film. I have never done a table read with the actress mentioned."

Crowe added that the situation "would be funny if it wasn't so pointless."

"My Best Friend's Wedding" was a box-office hit with a star-studded cast, including Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett, and Dermot Mulroney. Robert's played the film's main character who realizes she's in love with her best friend, played by Dermot Mulroney, ahead of his wedding.

The film was discussed in Scott Meslow's book, "From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy." An excerpt of the book was featured in Vulture, which included Hogan's comments about Crowe.

"But if not for one truly disastrous table read, My Best Friend's Wedding could have been a very different movie, because Hogan had an actor he thought would be perfect for Michael in the back of his mind all along," the excerpt read.

The book said Hogan – convinced that Crowe would flourish in the role – invited him to a table read opposite Roberts.

"It was one of the worst table reads I've ever experienced. Russell was seated opposite Julia. He gripped that script, and he stared at that script, and he didn't look at her once," Hogan said, according to the book.

Hogan continued: "He read every line in a monotone. At one point, Julia was literally leaning over the table, staring, like, inches from Russell's face, trying to make eye contact. And he wouldn't look at her. At the end of the reading, Russell came up to me and said, 'I thought that went pretty well.' And then I knew: Russell was not going to be in 'My Best Friend's Wedding.'"

Representatives for Hogan and Meslow did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.