Actor Brad Pitt will not be facing criminal charges following an altercation with then-wife Angelina Jolie and their children in 2016.
Pitt, Jolie, and their six children, Maddox, then 16, Pax, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 8 were on a flight from Nice, France, to the United States when the fight between the pair, which would ultimately result in their divorce, began. Despite several accounts that Pitt grabbed, shook, yelled at, and even poured beer on Jolie and the photo evidence of the injuries, the FBI will not be charging the actor, according to documents from 2016 that were recently released.
“This author provided both [assistant U.S. attorneys] copies of a probable cause statement related to this incident,” the document reads. “After reviewing the document, representative of the United States Attorney’s Office discussed the merits of this investigation with the case agent. It was agreed by all parties that criminal charges in this case would not be pursued due to several factors.”
BRAN VS. GELINA: BRAD PITT SUES EX-WIFE ANGELINA JOLIE OVER FRENCH VINEYARD
“You’re f***ing up this family,” Pitt allegedly told Jolie while punching the ceiling of the private jet during the fight on Sept. 14.
“It’s not her. It’s you, you p****,” one of the children, whose name was redacted from the document, reportedly said back after watching Pitt physically assault Jolie. When Pitt allegedly attempted to approach the child, Jolie held him back, sustaining further injuries.
Journals from the incident and photos taken of Jolie’s injuries were submitted to the FBI. Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt six days later.
People online rallied around Jolie, blasting Pitt for getting away without any charges.
“Just remembering how, when I said Brad Pitt was clearly an abuser for how he’s hounding Angelina Jolie with a lawsuit, a bunch of media people popped up to say Pitt was special and innocent,” editor Heidi Moore tweeted.
“F*** Brad Pitt,” writer Kayleigh Donaldson tweeted.
Others took issue with TMZ’s framing of the story, which caused its tweet to receive greater engagement compared to other outlets with neutral framing. TMZ’s tweet received over 660 quote tweets and 280 replies, while Page Six’s tweet, which broke the story, garnered just over 40 quote tweets and 50 replies. A tweet from Variety received over 50 quote tweets and replies.
“Angelina Jolie may be trying to run Brad Pitt’s name through the mud all over again, because the information she’s trying to obtain through the FBI and a FOIA request is allegedly info to which she was already privy … sources close to Brad tell TMZ,” the tweet read.
“Now is a good time to remind everyone that TMZ has a very long history of misogynistic reporting,” comedian Sean Kent tweeted.
Now is a good time to remind everyone that TMZ has a very long history of misogynistic reporting. https://t.co/y53sEvcUIG
— Sean Kent (@seankent) August 17, 2022
Others drew a comparison to Pitt and fellow actor Johnny Depp, who recently was part of a defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, who accused him of hitting her. The jury found partially in Depp’s and Heard’s favors, but the actor has since returned to filming and renewed an ad campaign with Dior after being replaced on one of his film’s sequels over the accusations.
“Johnny Depp was canceled due to slanders from Amber Heard, he was fired from all projects and couldn’t find a job, but Brad Pitt was nearly arrested after an argument with Angelina Jolie on the plane, but it was covered up and he continues to receive awards,” one user, Jack Worths, wrote. “WHY?”
Johnny Depp was canceled due to slanders from Amber Heard, he was fired from all projects and couldn’t find a job, but Brad Pitt was nearly arrested after an argument with Angelina Jolie on the plane, but it was covered up and he continues to receive awards. WHY? https://t.co/C2uMUrv3pi
— jackworths (@thorprotector) August 16, 2022
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Tweets also referred to and linked to a report that Depp and Pitt have hired the same PR manager, Matthew Hiltzik.