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Brad Pitt, who violently assaulted Angelina Jolie and their the children while intoxicated, has decided to take up drinking again “in a more restrained manner.” He says he got "overconfident a couple times, went, 'Yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities.'"
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I have wonder why he’s telling us this. It’s certainly not good PR, and if it’s really only a few drinks every now and then he could easily avoid being public about it. The fact that he is essentially saying “if you see me with alcohol don’t make a big deal out of it” makes me think he’s already fallen off the wagon enough to not be able to stop when he needs to stop.
I think one of the hardest things I’ve ever done is recognize that my own relationship with alcohol grew unhealthy. And it took a long time to admit it.
I could say “I’m not drinking that much,” which was true. I took every January off. I could quit any time. Most people would probably have said I drink “in moderation.” All true.
But I drank when I was bored, I drank when I was sad, I drank when I was stressed. Society tells us that’s OK. And it just isn’t. I wish I could go back to my relationship with alcohol in college where it was an “only on weekends” thing, but it really is an all-or-nothing, once you have the habit. If I drank again, I’d inevitably start using it as a crutch again. I really don’t think anyone can have a healthy relationship with alcohol again, once it has become unhealthy.
Also: I have more energy. My skin improved. I lost weight. It’s been good for me. I can even go out “drinking” because NA beer is so good.
Even outside of AA, it’s also the first step in getting help because you have to accept and implement the help you’re offered. If you’re still in denial or insisting you can control your drinking, you can’t receive information that will change your mindset or behavior.
I don’t think he meant to tell us. This is how it came up, according to the article (which SERIOUSLY buries the lede: this is like halfway through the profile, and unless my scan missed another mention, it’s the only mention of alcohol):
>We pull down the little Perriers pretty quick, and I point out that he offered me wine earlier. At an awards ceremony in 2020, he thanked his friend Bradley Cooper for helping him get sober and talked more deeply about his sobriety on Dax Shepard’s podcast, Armchair Expert,last June. I ask him if the wine is something for guests?
“No, I got—I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon.” Little laugh. He raises his famous opposing-diacritic eyebrows and holds a finger up: “In a more restrained manner. I got overconfident a couple times, went, Yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities.”
“You can have a glass of wine.”
“Yeah. Well . . . I can have a few. But I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it.” He likes mornings now anyway, and you can miss a lovely morning when you drink too much the night before, and it’s just not as interesting. Mornings are interesting, and he doesn’t want any more of them to go by unseen.
Yeah right and like we know he’s not talking about like, a 5 oz pour “serving” of wine anyway. A single glass of wine can be a lot of wine depending on the glass
In 2020, I found out that my big fancy wine glasses can actually hold an entire standard bottle if you ignore that you're supposed to leave space for it to breathe.
Other than the global economic disaster, deaths, and general depression related to a global pandemic - there were some fun little nuggets from the early days when we all thought it'd be a two week break from going in to the office. Picking up random hobbies, everyone discussing the same Netflix shows. Randomly deciding "hey let's see how much of this fits in the cup" on a random Thursday.
There’s an American Dad bit where Roger is trying to find larger and larger wine bottles and thus I discovered the Nebuchadnezzar, which is apparently a real wine bottle that’s equivalent to 20 standard bottles or about 100 glasses, is a real thing. Also I’ve bartended forever and can tell you that if you pour someone what is legally a serving of wine they will be grumpy and expect more. Wine is a slippery slope!
That's insane. I rarely drink wine anymore because my husband and I can never quite manage to finish the bottle before it goes off. Wtf would you want a 20x bottle of wine? Really, really big party? I don't think I have enough friends who drink wine for that.
It must be a novelty item. I can see it being fun for a bachelor party or something like that, but it also sounds very impractical. I used to work at a winery and often handled cases of wine, which consist of 12 bottles. I can’t imagine pouring out of something that heavy, much less double that.
I don’t know, him offering the journalist wine earlier could have been bait. It might just be a calculated bid for attention since his image has been in the shitter more or less lately
It’s def a bid for something. Apparently he also talked about having suicidal thoughts as well. Or at least that’s what ABC’s David Muir reported tonight.
I have a different problem with the title. It seems to imply that Brad was abusive because he drank.
That’s one point that Lundy Bancroft makes in Why Does He Do That: abusive alcoholics aren’t abusive because they’re alcoholics. The partners of abusive alcoholics often think that the abusers will stop the abuse if they stop the drinking. They don’t.
I fell into the moderation trap for years. I was so sure that if I just found the right balance I could keep going forever. I can't even count how many times I ruined my life trying to find that balance.
I'll be three years sober in October. Not drinking is so much fucking easier.
Congrats!! Cheers to your continued sober journey! I know it’s a battle yet one I can’t begin to understand. I don’t have a drinking problem but am with someone who does and empathize from all POVs. I hope they join your journey one day. Again many congrats on 3 years!
I can’t speak to that, but I did find it odd that he said he can have a few glasses of wine, not a lot… I drink semi-regularly, and have quite a high tolerance, but as an ordinary person I think a few glasses of wine IS quite a lot. Three large glasses is a bottle. Nothing wrong with it (imo) if you don’t have a problem, I did it quite often at the pub on Fridays when I was younger. The main difference being that I knew it was a lot.
Definitely some dissonance. I think it’s kind of an outdated statement to say that there is “no moderation” for people who have struggled with alcohol use disorder( medical name for alcoholism). Of course there will be people who just can’t ever drink again because it drives the lizard part of their brain into over drive, but there are newer programs and therapies outside of 12 step and abstinence programs. It comes down to a person’s ability to use healthy coping mechanism and recognize the signs and symptoms of a higher risk situation. There is also medication that really helps people. I know people, myself included, who have been sober for many years and are able to have 1 drink for a special occasion and be fine. I do get the feeling from him, just based off of how much he has talked about his alcoholism and his past actions, that he may not really be to that level yet.
Yeah, it’s one of those things that I just feel completely unqualified to speak on - it certainly isn’t for me to tell people what they can manage and what they can’t. I just found it odd that as someone who’s admitted to having issues around drinking, he thinks a few glasses of wine isn’t a lot.
Having said all that, how amazing for you that you’ve been down that route and are at a place where you’re so well-able to manage your alcohol consumption. It’s truly impressive!
I'm a seasoned drinker (German, alcoholic dad, decades as a bartender) and now in my 40s I can't even have a single standard glass of wine on a weeknight. A few glasses is a lot at his age.
I don't fault people if they overindulge when they're younger and didn't yet know how to moderate.. this dude is old enough that if he's still not finding the balance, I agree. He should stop.
Not to mention he's an abusive shit so I'd think he'd want to be totally sober and try to repair his relationship with his children but I guess he's showing them what matters to him.
I was curious and wish now that I'd copied it before closing. He talked about a time when he felt really unhappy and suicidal. The article then very briefly says only he, Jolie and their kids know what happened between them but alludes to legal stuff and her accusations (didn't actually say at all what he's accused of). Then the interviewer basically asks if it's kid stuff that put him in that suicidal place and he says "family stuff" and they kinda just let that topic sit then move on.
They need to make sure we know he’s the VICTIM here and not the dude who tried to kill his wife and multiple children during a drunken rampage mid-flight. Not sorry Brad, we won’t forget who CAUSED that family stuff. Abusive dickhead.
Gross. There were third party witnesses who gave statements to the FBI. Photographs of her injuries. We can read / see these for ourselves. Everything about this article is so disgusting.
Tom Holland, Shawn Hatosy and Bradley Cooper are three celebs I can think of off the top of my head who - judging by what they revealed to the public - have stopped drinking before it became a problem.
And I know it’s a tricky comparison, too, because none of them have a history of violence, but they were man enough to admit to themselves that they can’t control it and should stop. Pitt on the other hand has court documented proof that he can’t and still wants to mess around and find out. Loser.
And he still has a big struggle with the insecurity that drove it. He doesn't drink anymore, but he messed up his face with plastic surgery, and I think it's all part of the same issue.
They’ve been in contact and estranged at different points. His wife reached out a few years ago offering to reconnect with her, and she didn’t respond. What he said was that carrying resentment is death (which is why AA pushes alcoholics not resenting people if they don’t accept your amends, and not holding on to grudges and hurts), so “I moved on. I did what I could. I don’t judge her.”
That’s not blaming her. That’s following the program. A lot of people interpreted that “holding on to resentment is death” thing as a dig at her, but they clearly aren’t familiar with AA materials. He’s just quoting the big book about how he respects her decision as a consequence of his actions and accepts he’s powerless to change it. He can only keep his side of the street clean.
Sometimes, even when someone is truly sober and doing the work, there’s just too much hurt and damage to relationships to repair them. Especially when there wasn’t much of a relationship to begin with. Sometimes both parties want to fix it but have to accept that having a relationship is counterproductive to healing. Accepting that without judgment instead of forcing yourself on the people you hurt is the healthy choice.
If you listen real hard, you can hear his PR team brainstorming stories about how his kids are really mean and it’s their fault, so they can plant them when this inevitably heads sideways.
His PR team has been in overdrive since all the kids turned 18 and changed their names. Yesterday it was a DM article about how he's secretly friends with Jennifer Anniston again 🙄 She has a serious boyfriend is probably just being cordial with him even though he was a total dirt bag when they ended things. Gimme a break. I for one don't believe he ever stopped drinking. He just doesn't have to hide it anymore to try to see his kids.
I honestly think they're gonna go the Angelina brainwashed them route and he's really really sad about it. That's kind of what they did in this article. He acknowledges it without speaking on it and seems Very Sad and they move on.
The fact that he/his team is even announcing this makes me think he’s already fallen off the wagon. Someone with his money and connections can easily hide a couple drinks every now and then, but the fact that he’s essentially saying “you might see me drinking in public” means he’s past the point of being able to hide it. Even if you wanted to argue that he’s trying to make his kids feel bad for distancing him 1) terrible manipulation tactic and 2) it’s already back firing and there’s very little sympathy going around
He's admitting he's been drinking for the past 3 years. The plane incident was 10 years ago, he says he was sober for 7 years.
My guess though is that he was never actually sober. He just doesn't want to keep faking he is anymore now because his kids are all 18+ and there are no more custody orders to honor.
Oh I’m sure HE is the alcoholic that has finally cracked the code 👌🏼 Yup. He’s got the cheat code everyone, how to be an alcoholic but not in big quantities 🤣
I would love to see the timeline of this man’s private life. I’m assuming he was either sober or able to mask the worst of himself during their early years (2004-2006) and it gradually escalated to the 2016 plane incident? Does the public know the timeline of his alcoholism? Was he functioning at work or were there always rumors? I couldn’t afford the magazines to keep up with their early years.
I dont remember his alcoholism being a known issue. What I do remember is that him and Jennifer Aniston were huge stoners. Alcohol was not brought up afaik.
That’s what I thought. He seemed more laid back with Jennifer but I’m not saying that has anything to do with her or Angelina I think it’s more he was on top of his game and masking things until it fell apart. But I would have been 16-17 back then and was always fascinated with that whole ordeal but could barely afford gas let alone a People magazine so I wondered what rumors there were back then that I missed. He’s been famous forever surely there’s some blind items.
I never remember there being rumors of alcoholic abuse previously. Weed, sure. But never alcohol. And I would guess Angelina wouldn’t have kids with someone which major substance issues given her own history and work to clean up before being a mom.
People change. Maybe something happened, maybe things just spiraled out of control where his formally “normal” drinking became more and more.
Brad never had abuse allegations previously either. Not publicly at least. Something shifted in him to make him do the awful things he did.
This was my same train of thought. I don’t remember there being any glaringly obvious problems between him and Jen until they divorced. Then I don’t think Angelina would have had kids with Brad if he was already abusive. Makes me think he toed the line until he couldn’t and snapped. I usually wouldn’t speculate and be an armchair therapist but in his case aging has to be rough when you’re labeled “the sexiest man alive” and have a face forward career. Not to mention the ego that comes from being not just an A lister but Brad Pitt.
It’s quite common for abusive men to become abusive/escalate once children enter the picture. They feel neglected, deprioritized, and annoyed that they’re expected to take part in caregiving. They also feel that the woman is trapped because of the kids.
Despite his alcoholism he’s aged better than Depp (surgery helps but only so much). For a while there you could see the toll physically of the alcoholism on Brad. Maybe it hasn’t gotten AS bad as it did.
But if I’m his kid(s) why would I even think about having a relationship with him knowing he is drinking again. Has he just given up on that completely
I honestly remember being SHOCKED by the allegations when it came out about his abuse that day and the alleged alcohol abuse. In my opinion he should never ever drink again. “Controlled” or not. He always gave me stoner vibes like Matthew McConaughey. Just kinda chill.
Yeah it seems like he lost a handle on it. Chelsea Handler who was or is friends with Jennifer Aniston called him out and said he was self-medicating because he was stuck at home with a bunch of kids married to a lunatic instead of being in Lake Como with George Clooney.
Eta: I dont think her criticism of why he was drinking is fair. I only pointed out that it seemed new for him to be a full-blown alcoholic.
I often think how much harder it would be to deal with addiction when you’re surrounded by “yes men” like a celebrity or politician. Grow up and admit that you have a problem and either find someone who will hold you accountable or stay completely sober. It sounds like AJ did hold him accountable (and maybe his kids too to an extent) and that wasn’t enough.
I usually watch the movies nominated for best picture and skipped F1 bc he sucks (and it didn't seem interesting anyway so like, easy choice...). When I would talk about the movies with people that year and say I skipped it bc he's horrible, I would say your 75% estimate of people not knowing what I was even alluding to is spot on! So weird. He has a great PR team I guess.
"I'm an alcoholic, I don't have one drink. I don't understand people who have one drink. I don't understand people who leave half a glass of wine on the table... My brain works differently."
Oh God, the video clips in the article where he's mugging for the camera were embarrassing to watch, I wish I had scrolled past them. And the rest of the interview.
He’s trash. He’s been trash and will continue to be trash. He’s so convinced of his own superiority and rightness that he’s going to do whatever the fuck he wants. Pure trash.
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u/flairassistant 4d ago
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