Katy Perry has apologised to actor Ryan Phillippe after an encounter at a party that led to him being hounded by paparazzi who thought they could be dating.

Phillippe, who currently stars as Bob Lee Swagger in USA Network thriller Shooter, sent a tweet in an attempt to clear things up.

It appeared that after being spotted talking to the pop star briefly at Elton John's birthday party, members paparazzi began badgering him in an attempt to find out if they were romantically linked.

"I AM NOT DATING KATY PERRY," Phillippe wrote over the weekend. "BARELY KNOW HER. PLEASE STOP FLYING HELICOPTERS OVER MY HOUSE. SHE IS NOT HERE."

He also replied to a fan to clarify that, while he didn't mind people thinking that they could be dating, he did care about "low flying pervs hovering periodically".

Perry was clearly amused and apologetic about the unwanted attention Phillippe was receiving, quoting his tweet and joking: "Can u let me out of this basement plz?"

She then replied to his post: "Hi, nice to meet you, sorry bout that @RyanPhillippe carry on, lol."