‘On my knees’: Brad Pitt opens up on his AA meetings
Hollywood star Brad Pitt has opened up on his 18-month spell in Alcoholics Anonymous after his split from Angelina Jolie.
“I was pretty much on my back, on my knees,” Pitt, 61, has told Armchair Expert podcast host Dax Shepard, in an episode released on Monday (US time).
“I was trying anything anyone threw at me. It was a particular difficult time. I needed rebooting. I needed to wake the f— up, in some areas.”
Pitt, who announced in 2019 that he had given up alcohol, has previously told The New York Times he turned to the support group after Jolie filed for divorce.
“I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges,” he said at the time.
“It was this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself.”
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Pitt was in London overnight (Australian time), for the British premiere of F1: The Movie. He wowed fans with a red-carpet reunion with fellow Hollywood heavyweight, Tom Cruise.
On the podcast, he told Shepard he thought the AA experience was “incredible – men sharing their experiences, their foibles, their missteps, their wants, their aches, and a lot of humour with it. I thought it was a really special experience”.
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016. It followed accusations from Jolie that the Oscar-winner had assaulted their adopted son, Maddox, midflight.
Pitt and Jolie were together for a decade and married for two years. As well as Maddox, they have five other children: Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne.
Pitt has always denied Jolie’s allegations, and faced no charges over the alleged incident.
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Nonetheless, the fallout from their marriage was bitter. Among the multiple issues at dispute were how to split property and custody of their children.
Their divorce settlement became official only in December last year. Jolie’s lawyer told USA Today at the time that it was “just one part of a long, ongoing process”.
Shepard, who has previously had his own struggles with alcohol, revealed he met Pitt at an AA meeting. He praised the star for being “honest”.
“It was really moving,” Pitt said. “Some of these men were so moving.”
He revealed he was initially worried that his attendance at the meetings might become public.
“But I had been assured by another friend this was a safe place,” he said.
“I’m sure I was a bit shy. I can generally be a bit shy in any kind of situation first. I just remember getting my arms around it pretty quickly, and it became a thing for me, something I looked forward to.”
It follows Pitt revealing to GQ last year that Alcoholics Anonymous reprimanded him for talking about his experience with the group publicly.
“You know they came down on me for that? AA did,” he said.
“They were like, ‘It’s anonymous.’ … I’m not outing anyone. Everyone knows you exist. What’s the issue?”
