Kenny Chesney Responds to Flirtation Fabrication

While Billy Currington recently said he wouldn't mind being romantically linked to Jessica Simpson (at least for a night), Kenny Chesney is only interested in a friendship. That's it. He insists. So don't believe those tabloid reports otherwise.

Responding to a Star magazine claim that Jessica was flirting with him in front of then-boyfriend Tony Romo at a July 4 party, Kenny adamantly denied their conversation was anything beyond platonic. "Tony's a friend, and I wouldn't flirt with a buddy's girlfriend," he tells PEOPLE. "More importantly, Jessica was just being sweet and there was nothing else to it. It's not funny. There were no problems. Everybody got along great. After the party, everybody went their own way and nobody thought anything more about it. Period. End of story."

The party was hosted by mutual friend Sean Payton, coach of the New Orleans Saints. It was a perfect setting for mingling with lots of friends, Kenny asserts, and nothing more.

"If a girl and her boyfriend can't go to someone's house for a Fourth of July party and talk to the other guests without it turning into a big nightmare, then I feel really sorry for Jessica and Tony, who're both really nice people," Chesney says. "I wonder if I wasn't famous if anyone would even care. But the fact of the matter is I talked to a bunch of guests, hung out, had a good time."

Besides, Kenny apparently isn't keen on dating fellow celebrities these days. He recently told the San Francisco Chronicle that he is dating a nurse who is "normal" and "levelheaded."