Brad Pitt has revealed he is drinking again after seven years of sobriety, telling Esquire he got "back off the wagon" but is now far more careful about how much he drinks.
The 62-year-old actor went sober after splitting from Angelina Jolie amid accusations that he poured alcohol on her and their children during a volatile flight on a private jet in 2016. He later became a winery owner and said he had been working through personal struggles at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
The admission came after his Esquire interviewer noticed Pitt had offered him a glass of wine. Asked if the drink was for guests, Pitt said, "No, I got - I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon," adding with a laugh that he now drinks "in a more restrained manner." He said he had gotten overconfident a couple of times and realized it "was not good for me," but not in big quantities.
Pitt said he can now "have a few" glasses of wine but not more than that. "I can't have a lot. I have to be professional about it," he said. The Esquire profile noted that Pitt now prefers mornings, since drinking too much the night before can cause him to miss them, and he doesn't want to let any more slip by unseen.
Family estrangement continues
The revelation comes amid ongoing family drama for Pitt, who is dating jewelry executive Ines de Ramon and has been locked in a bitter legal battle with Jolie for years. The split has also exposed a fractured relationship with their children.
Last month their daughter Vivienne, 18, filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court to drop Pitt from her name, following three of her older siblings. Court documents obtained by the Daily Mail list the reason as "personal," and a hearing is scheduled for November 2.
Their daughter Zahara and son Maddox also published notices in the Los Angeles Daily Journal in June and July announcing their intention to drop Pitt from their surnames. Last year, Shiloh, born Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, legally changed her name to Shiloh Jolie. Aside from Pax, Vivienne's twin brother Knox is the only other sibling who has not formally dropped the surname.
The 2016 plane incident
Pitt's marriage to Jolie ended after a volatile 2016 incident on a private jet in which he was accused of being physically abusive toward Jolie and two of their children. In a 2022 court filing, Jolie alleged Pitt had been drinking during the flight and poured alcohol on her and the children, according to CNN, stating that he poured beer on Jolie at one point and beer and red wine on the children at another.
Pitt denied the allegations and was never charged following an FBI investigation. A source close to Pitt told CNN at the time that all parties had had the information for nearly six years, that it had been used in previous legal proceedings, and that the filing served no purpose other than being "a media stunt meant to inflict pain."
A year and a half in AA
A year after his split from Jolie, Pitt, who has described himself as a "professional" drinker, was sober. He told GQ in 2017 that he enjoyed wine very much but had "run it to the ground," and had to step away for a while, adding that he could drink "a Russian under the table with his own vodka."
Pitt spent a year and a half in Alcoholics Anonymous, confiding in other men about what he called the "ugly sides" of himself. He told The New York Times that the men sat around being open and honest in a way he had never heard, calling it "a safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself." He said exposing those uglier sides of himself was "actually really freeing" and that "there's great value in that."
The Chateau Miraval dispute
Pitt's relationship with alcohol also extended into business. During their marriage, Pitt and Jolie bought the French winery Chateau Miraval, a property now at the center of their legal dispute. Jolie sold her stake in it in part because of what court documents describe as Pitt's "acknowledged problem of alcohol abuse on their family."
The documents state that, resigned that Pitt would not share control of the winery or distribute profits, concerned about being tied to a business associated with painful and traumatic memories for her and their children, and seeking financial independence, Jolie concluded she needed to sell her interest in Chateau Miraval.
Pitt on suicidal thoughts
Pitt also addressed what he called "family stuff" during the Esquire interview, admitting he battled suicidal thoughts amid his estrangement from his children. He said the pain he felt was so "oppressive" that, while he would never act on it, he struggled to see a way out.
He told Esquire UK he was never suicidal by nature, calling himself "a congenital optimist," a trait he said has helped him many times but has also led him to "walk foolishly head-on into a Mack truck." He quoted his friend, director David Fincher, as joking that Pitt sees the glass as half full, "but it's half full of urine."
Pitt said that except for one period, he had never been suicidal. During that period, he said, "the pain was so oppressive" that he could feel "the cold steel of the bullet in my head, and it felt like relief," which made him understand that suicide is about seeking relief from pain. He said his survival instincts kicked in, adding, "this s**t ain't easy... And you're talking to a guy who won the lottery." When pressed by the interviewer, Pitt confirmed he was referring to "family stuff."
Upcoming projects
Pitt shows no signs of slowing down professionally. His next film, "Heart of the Beast," a story about a man and his dog, is due out this fall, followed by Quentin Tarantino's "The Adventures of Cliff Booth," in which he plays a Hollywood stuntman. He recently wrapped the thriller "The Riders."
Despite his busy schedule, Pitt told Esquire he wishes he could have his fifties back. "Your fifties are just - man, anything that's on your mind, go. Go attack it. Go attack it now," he said.
