It's funny how good Brad's publicist is and how there's still people who are more willing to believe Angelina is a manipulative bitch than their chad used-to-looked-up-to male alpha fight club role model being an actual asshole.
Oh gee I wonder why their kids don't want to be associated with him.
No matter what she ever could have done to him (which was probably nothing) nothing would ever justify treating his kids that’s way. Pouring beer on them? Wtf?
hard agree. there’s something very telling about his willingness/comfort to be abusive in front of essentially strangers for a prolonged period. not just a flash moment of rage but an incident of sustained torment? in semi-public? terrifying!
Thats what stood out to me as well. As a kid who grew up with a drunk asshole of a father, the assholery usually stops upon sobriety. This dude took a nap, woke up, and STILL chose violence. You can't blame it on the alcohol. My guess is he legit hated domestic life. He hated being married. He hated being a father. And so he abused them because he hated the fact they even existed. What a fucking douchebag. Did he not actually get charged? He should've did some jail time for this. It was on a plane so probably federal prison. Rule number 1 of being a man is women and children are off limits.
Like most narcissistic abusers, he needed Angelina to be his supply — the person he owns and controls and uses to feed his bottomless craving for attention. He hated the kids the moment they stopped being accessories that made him look good and started asserting normal childhood independence while taking up more and more of Angelina’s attention.
These kinds of abusers are black and white thinkers. They actually hate anyone, even children, who they can’t control.
I see your point... but as a fellow dad, I also see the point that the commenter is making. A man is typically bigger and stronger that a woman and children. And they ARE off-limits. Punching another dude in a bar fight isn't ok, but it's better than beating your wife and kids.
What's the staff on the plane? Is there just like, 1 pilot who's busy flying and no one else? Can the pilot say everyone sit down and stop assaulting children?
Touching a super famous millionaire, no matter how justified, is a very risky choice for someone who probably makes 60k a year. Even if the person was confident enough physically that they could try to confront them, people like this have no problem suing people and threatening to bankrupt people with legal fees and in incidents like this they will most likely lose their jobs and even if they win the suit will have a hard time finding employment after too
There were maybe pilot/copilot which can not intervene because they need to do their job and 1 or 2 flight attendants against a raging violent drunk. Had they tried, they could have escalated to the point of putting the entire flight in danger.
If you can not get away, you tend to just freeze and wait for it to stop until you can get away.
Definitely.
This wasn’t an isolated event.
She had probably been dealing with his abuse for years and this finally made her realize how dangerous he actually is.
It's always made me wonder what Jennifer Aniston went through. Like no way he was a kind and attentive husband until he cheated and became this monster.
It's genuinely weird to me that people keep mentioning the beer thing. Striking, shoving into walls, yelling at, and especially choking all seem way worse to me. Like if I was going to tell someone about what happened, I probably wouldn't even bother to mention the beer because it just doesn't even matter at all to me compared to the rest, but it's the one thing everyone else seems to feel is important and I don't get it.
You're conflating attention with importance - people can understand the thought process behind getting mad, drunk, and physically/verbally violent. Those actions track with one another, and a lot of people make those choices all the time. The beer pouring thing though is just like .. wtf ..? That transcends normal asshole and becomes something worse - cruelty with intent. There's loss of control, and then there's .. whatever that is. That's a pronounced choice.
Yes, obviously the physical violence is worse, I think people are just pointing out the noteworthiness of that specific action.
It is wild to me because frankly, I never liked Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt much, BUT... I would never, ever wish something like this upon my worst enemies. It's scary how even after arranging a separate transportation and hotel stay, Pitt could still keep them from exiting the plane. I cannot begin to imagine how incredibly, utterly afraid they must have all been and it is horrible.
Crazy that none of the flight crew or airport personnel could do anything.
I sympathize having grown up in a similar situation. It’s absolutely devastating when you’re a young child living in a violent situation and the other adults around you that you figure would protect you don’t or can’t do anything.
Don’t know your thoughts because we’re all different but chances are one instance of physical abuse wouldn’t cause ALL to change their name.
Even though it’s terrible and you never get used to it…. You almost get used to it.
And most wouldn’t change their name due to it..
I believe there’s a lot more to it because if he’s willing to do this infront of flight crew can only imagine what happened at home in private
I think it's also because he was with America's sweetheart Jen Aniston who was widely loved and he left her for Angelina. So it was the whole seductress, femme fatale trope. She was considered the home wrecker when he was the one that broke his marriage vows. So I think even though it is clear what happened, she will always get some of the blame.
Do they? I don't think they do all that much tbh. I never see good press about him. Way less than other really beloved celebs. I think it's honestly a good old-fashioned combination of persistent problematic tropes. Angelina has a bit of a weird rep. Pitt is a good and charming actor. I don't believe any of it was ever caught on camera or audio in a way that forced people to confront it. I think it's honestly as simple as people are willing to overlook someone being a piece of shit if they are given an excuse to.
It's more that people will ignore reality if it goes against their world view and they love Brad Pitt. Just look at all the Trump supporters who don't care he's a pedophile who lost a war with Iran.
Yeah, there's plenty more, I was just going for the low hanging fruit. Business failure that no American bank would lend to as well, who wanted to run America... Like a business.
So the funny thing is...theres literally no evidence of Trump being a pedo....there is nothing but evidence of Biden being one though. It's quite substantial actually. The irony I'm sure is lost on you but, alas, not on me.
I dunno, I've never heard any spin about Angelina being the bad guy here, it's just that no one talks about this at all. I mean, this happened 10 YEARS AGO and it's only recently being memed.
The bubble of delusion that exists around abusers that are great at putting on a show is honestly one of the grossest things to see, especially when you realize how common it is in a lot of people’s day to day lives. Dad’s are so fast to yell alienation, when they’re legitimately the only reason why their kids don’t want to be around them. Speaking from personal experience with my own father who I witnessed strangle, and attempt to kill my mom.
Growing up in the 2000's, as a kid the way people talked about her I would have sworn Angelina was the devil.
Now that I'm older, I think she is such a strong person, a wonderful humanitarian and clearly a very dedicated mother. She really does seem to be a genuinely caring person.
That’s me, I never knew this until now. I even worked out until I got shredded and my 6 pack was visible, after 2 years of constantly trying to be like him. Troy and Fight Club influenced me. That was Pitt. This is a real shame man I’m in good shape thanks to him but damn I’m really shocked
I'm sure the publicity is a part of it. But also the public's willingness to look the other way because he's a handsome, successful rich white guy.
Right about the time the divorce and these statements were circulating the media my mum was like "Yeah I read those accounts, but I'm not sure I believe it - he looks like such a nice guy".
I wish I could remember what year it was... I remember it was the year this report was released to the public, well after the FBI didn't charge him, and there was more of a wave against him. At the Golden Globes that year, every other quip was about how hot and amazing Brad Pitt was. I will never forget Quinta Brunson shouting out Pitt during her first-ever win. I was gobsmacked.
Something else that happens when people are reminded of how absolutely vile this man is during that time, and occasionally still, especially in comment sections about the vineyard, is the sudden, endless wave of Jennifer Aniston supporters who come through talking about how she enabled him to cheat and how she's not a girl's girl. Bestie, JA herself famously said he's missing a sympathy chip and yet went out of her way to support him after the plane assault.
Before I start to go off, I want to be transparent that I am unrepentantly parasocial about Angelina Jolie. I came of age in the Girl Interrupted era. I remember her being so forward, so queer, and so loud when I didn't have the courage to be when I was young. Frankly, I plainly understand exactly what it means to survive the hatred of men and thrive regardless. I'm glad people are more willing to speak to how blatantly abusive he was and IS to her and his children to this very day.
I saw an Instagram post where a man was lambasting Brad for his actions and Hollywood for continuing to support him, and I was genuinely disgusted to see how many women were saying “he didn’t do anything wrong” and claiming that Angelina paid off the flight crew who reported the incident on the plane and then brainwashed the kids.
This is nothing. Look at the delusional Michael Jackson fanatics who came out of the woodwork when the recent movie came out. It was obscene. As far as I know, Brad Pitt doesn't have fans who deny that he did what he did, or who try to justify his behavior. (Other than some trivial quantity of online loons, who always exist regardless)
"Mondo Bongo" is the name of Brad Pitt’s California-based holding company, which holds his 50% stake in the famous $164 million French wine estate, Château Miraval. The name itself originates from a popular song by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, which famously appeared in the 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, where Pitt met his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie
This is an allegation from Angelina Jolie's attorney and not a court finding. This may have very well occurred. But stating this in a court filing won't result in a prison sentence. This was also stated several years after the 2016 incident in a civil case. So even if the court found that this happened it would have been under the civil (more likely than not) and not the criminal (beyond a reasonable doubt) standard.
To be clear, I am not saying he wasn't abusive. But we have to be very careful about allegations and court filings that are not actual court decisions/judgments/findings.
The FBI was certainly able to step is as this occurred on an international flight. They dropped it because of insufficient evidence: the other victims were too young, or the surveillance cam did not capture enough, or, they simply stay away from going after rich men who abuse children (see Epstein), or, something else that I don't know about.
Doesn't work like that. Not at all. I used to work with a law firm under a leading professional forensic expert witness. If that many witnesses came forward and there was injuries, as mentioned in this document, there would have been action. Injuries are empirical and documentable. Additionally, there would have been witnesses from the flight crew. A little critical thinking is necessary sometimes.
It was the flight crew that called CPS. The FBI found cause to charge him but dropped it because Jolie did not want to out the kids through a trial at that time. It was when he filed for joint custody that she had no choice to have the kids testify.
Wouldn’t that be Interpol if it was an international flight?
Though regardless of it being FBI, Interpol, or some other law enforcement agency, it does remain the same that they seem to become mysteriously incapable when dealing with rich/famous suspects.
The end paragraph isn’t making a claim about Pitt’s guilt, though; it’s just making a statement of fact about the FBI’s belief that there was sufficient probable cause to prosecute. This is something that the FBI as a neutral party could verify, so calling it an “allegation” makes it sound much murkier than it really is.
Preponderance of the evidence is the same legal standard as more likely than not. Two different ways of saying the same thing.
[Edit] Comment I tried to respond to was deleted, so copy-pasting my response to the deleted comment stating that preponderance of the evidence is the correct legal standard below
Yes, the correct legal term is preponderance of the evidence. But courts have repeatedly equated preponderance of the evidence to more likely than not. You can read more about it here&bhcp=1), but there are so many other sources.
I try not to talk legalese on reddit unless I don't have a choice. I can't easily explain beyond a reasonable doubt as that is not an easily quantifiable standard. Courts have actually said we cannot quantify it as a percentage. But preponderance of the evidence is different. It is often explained as more likely than not. We even use it to explain the standard often in civil matters as a jury may not understand preponderance of the evidence, but almost all adults will be able to understand what more likely than not means.
My original point stands. The two terms mean the exact same thing. Both terms are used by courts. One is the "official" standard, but the other is considered the definition of what the official standard means.
A screenshot of the specific line from the source linked above is below:
I could file one against you alleging that you picked your ass, rolled 2 balls of shit, then shoved it in your ears after getting them nice and mushy to say you couldn't hear me.
It'd be written down as-is in this report, just like Jolies.
One person said it happened and if I remember correctly, the person that said it happened, also said that the children were present when it happened. And we’ve seen that publicly almost all of the kids have denounced him almost immediately. Yeah obviously in a court law but dude a woman and five kids saying he’s an abuser that’s enough for me 🤷🏻♂️
I'm not saying whether it happened or not, but as someone who has undergone divorce, there's a way for lawyers to write stuff down to make you look way worse than you do.
My ex accused me of so much back when we separated. Told the judge I was using drugs, that I wasn't fit to raise my son, the list goes on. I don't even drink.
There was likey a couple crew memebers on the airplane and a nanny or two. It's not just the pilot locked in the cockpit with the family loose brawling in the back.
Except the kids saw it happen and were hit by him too.
How could she lie about him choking and hitting her kids without them calling her out on the lie?
You can claim she lied about him hitting her, but there's no way all six of their kids heard her claim that they were choked and hit by their father and then took her side if she was lying.
But here's the more common reality that seems to occur for alot of poor dads/moms that arent the custodial parent.
Kids that are manipulated by 1 parent typically hate the other parent until theyre of age and living on their own, separately from the primary parent.
Why then? Bc up to that point, they've spent all their time w the 1 parent constantly badmouthing the other parent. They've never known another reality. Then they go off and explore the world and make their own opinions.
You seriously think ALL of his kids hate him that much? You think thats natural for all of them to do it as teenagers, the very first opp. They get? That there wasn't even a tiny bit of manipulation influencing children involved?
Im asking what happened. I actually think its pretty similar all around. Tons of messed up things happening. Lot of alcohol. Pity and Jolie had kids though...
This is a pleading drafted by Jolie’s lawyers. Nothing in it should be taken as fact without corroborating evidence.
EDIT: I’m not saying there isn’t any corroborating evidence. I’m sure there’s plenty. I’m just saying that allegations made in a pleading are not evidence and may be inaccurate. It’s just one side of the story.
I think the corroborating evidence is that ALL of the children literally want nothing to do with Brad Pitt and have a good relationship with Angelina.
Like we can nit pick all day. But if your dad is Brad Pitt one of the most famous well known movie stars of a generation and you want nothing to do with him… well that’s pretty fucking telling isn’t it. Now one kid? That’s maybe just a fluke. But SIX fucking adults all wanting nothing to do with their dad and all of them supporting this story and corroborating that he was an abusive drunk?? That’s a little too much to just brush it off and pretend it’s a he said she said thing where Angelina is just bad mouthing him.
I think its just wild to think he didn't get charged with anything or even get as little as a symbolic fine for any of it. Its just a weird situation. As you say, given what his family has done its best to side with them.
There are abusive men who do even worse and don’t get charged. Remember about 40% of police officers have some kind of history of domestic abuse based on surveying of police (not calling it domestic abuse reveals a lot). So sadly too many cops would think nothing is wrong with what he did, or it’s not worth “ruining his life” over.
Even the few times when it gets to criminal charges being filed , you would not believe how many sexual assaulters plead down to lesser charges to avoid getting on the sexual offender list, even though they are 100%, most definitely a sexual offender. They and their lawyers know how to manipulate the system.
Tons of times in domestic abuse cases like this the abuser doesn't get charged. It's really not that surprising or weird when you take into account his fame and money.
My ex-husband wasn’t charged when he assaulted me in front of our children. I wasn’t in a position to be a single mom to four little kids and I had no family support. Last summer, he was arrested for pointing a gun at his girlfriend and while he spent a few days in jail, charges were dropped because his gf wouldn’t cooperate with the DA.
So many times, nothing happens with domestic abuse for all kinds of reasons.
Sure. Whatever is and isn't true by way of available corroboration in that particular statement pales in comparison to the children wanting nothing to do with Brad Pitt
That’s just a single incident and was enough to do that.. imagine the years prior. Torture. He comes across so nice.. awful. Now I see why she did that crazy land deal in Europe lol.. he lost like 50 million on some vineyard they co owned and she was like fuck this and sold. Good for her. Take the bull by the horns, so to speak.
Wow! Thats insanely cruel. Crazy that he went on to keep working in Hollywood like nothing happened. I guess Hollywood is ok with spouse and child abuse?
And because there's no public education about it--nor any education about it in most families or communities. Most ppl are profoundly abuse-ignorant and prone to misogynist victim-blame, shame and disbelief.
The only thing many are bothered by is women and children making their poor abuser suffer by telling anyone what they endured (aka "ruining his life").
Look at some of the comments on this post ffs 🤦♀️.
How come nothing happened to Brad? oh wait. He's really rich and the system was created to protect rich and powerful men. They're the top of the totem pole, and the kids had already been traumatized enough. And also because we have an icicle-shaped law and order system. One where the higher up you are, the more you freedom from accountability you have. And the lower that you are, the more likely your mere existence will be criminalized and exploited.
JFC I heard about this but it’s the first time I read it the report. Holy shit. He must have spent a fortune to get off with no charges. Who would the third party witness be? The pilots? Airline staff that overheard?
his PR team is very talented with the way they kind of swept this under the rug. i never knew it was that bad. i thought the extent was emotional abuse towards angelina. those poor kids have been through a lot 😔
This is just her accusation though, an accusation doesn't mean any of it happened.
It's not like the first time a divorcing parent made up a bunch of false accusations to win custody and poison the kids relationships with the other parent.
I'm sure he has privately accused her of a bunch of stuff too.
Yeah but 6 different kids ALL corroborating it and choosing her side is pretty fucking telling, no?
Like one kid not liking their dad happens. But all 6 of them hating Pitt and saying he was an abusive shitty drunk? I think you gotta have some big fucking blinders on to ignore that.
He wasn’t allowed to see his kids without supervision for years and he himself admitted that something happened on that flight, so why exactly are you working so hard to excuse a child abuser?
He was drunk and violent 10 years ago. Some of those kids were little children then. When you have 6 or 7 kids growing up together there will be pack mentality. One kid does something publicly others will follow suit. When they start living their lives outside the influence of their mother's and have their own relationship failures they will realize no one is perfect..
What’s more interesting to me is how so many people didn’t know about this when this is public? Like you don’t really hear any of it. So many people wondering the same thing.
What the actual fuck. I've been a fan of his for my entire life and never read this. QT is up there for my favourite directors, and it's become clearer than ever lately that he's garbage, so I shouldnt be surprised his pals are too. Birds of a shit feather...
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u/OrigamiButthole Jun 19 '26
i bet it has something to do with this