The LAPD is not actively investigating Brad Pitt, DCFS is investigating (updates)

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We knew that there was some kind of incident a week ago. It was the only explanation for why Angelina Jolie filed for divorce so suddenly. For two days, there were theories being traded about the “breaking point,” and early this morning, TMZ gave us the answer: something awful happened on September 14th. Something on the Jolie-Pitts’ private plane. TMZ and People Magazine both reported that there was some kind of incident involving Brad Pitt acting erratically, and possibly being physically or verbally abusive to the kids. Even People Mag worded it this way: “The Los Angeles Police Department and L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services are both investigating after someone anonymously reported the incident last Wednesday on the tarmac, a source tells PEOPLE.” But now LAPD sources insist that Pitt is NOT being investigated… by them… for child abuse.

“We understand how rumors get spun up and hopefully we can put a few of them to rest. We have no investigation involving Mr. Pitt,” police tell THR.

The Los Angeles Police Department is not investigating Brad Pitt for child abuse, nor has any allegation been made against the actor, Sgt. Barry Montgomery told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday morning. Multiple outlets were reporting Pitt allegedly was recently verbally and physically abuse toward at least one of his children and that is among the reasons why Angelina Jolie is seeking a divorce.

Police tell THR those reports are not accurate.

“We have no criminal investigation that we are actively pursuing,” Montgomery said. “To my knowledge, [Pitt talking to police] never happened. And right now, that is where our office is. We are not investigating any case, nor do we have any allegations against Mr. Pitt. We understand how rumors get spun up and hopefully we can put a few of them to rest. We have no investigation involving Mr. Pitt.”

[From THR]

It’s possible the words are being very carefully chosen. “…No criminal investigation that we are actively pursuing,” strikes me as an interesting way to deny something. It’s also possible that the LAPD were called, but the situation (and investigation) got passed off to the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services and they’re taking the lead. It’s also possible that even without an LAPD investigation, something significant went down and that’s why Angelina bolted so quickly.

Oh, and LAPD Officer Jenny Houser told CNN: “LAPD is not handling any report of allegations of child abuse for Mr. Brad Pitt.”

Update #1: People Magazine confirms that the investigation is being conducted by DCFS (L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services), not the LAPD. A source tells People: “The DCFS investigation is absolutely ongoing. Brad has been interviewed and is cooperating fully. The case remains open.” People also says Pitt got physical with one of the kids specifically, and that Jolie witnessed the incident.

Update #2: Okay, now TMZ has a new story about the investigation. Their sources says DCFS notified the LAPD, but the LAPD kicked the case to the FBI, considering the incident happened on a flight from France to America, and the incident where Pitt allegedly acted “out of control” was actually in Minnesota, meaning this is a multi-state and multi-national issue, so the FBI would have jurisdiction. If DCFS’s investigation finds something, they will hand their case to the LAPD, so says TMZ.

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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295 Responses to “The LAPD is not actively investigating Brad Pitt, DCFS is investigating (updates)”

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  1. Anastasiia says:

    But the damage is done. Is this Laura Wasser style?

    • Rocio says:

      She destroyed Amber Heard so… Who knows! I pity the children 🙁

    • merlot says:

      This is more damaging to AJ than BP. It makes it appear that her people are smearing his reputation. It could just be an idiot who made some story up to tip to the press. I just don’t know.

      This getting so nasty and ugly.

      • SilverUnicorn says:

        True Merlot. The majority of commenters also tend to side with Pitt more, so this is bad news for Jolie.

      • Anastasiia says:

        Read the comments, for example, on this site: based on alleged investigation people already sure that Pitt is alcoholic, drug-addicted child abuser. It’s been only one day since divorce-announcement and everybody are separated on team Jolie and team Pitt. The first one is obviously bigger. Wouldn’t it be a brilliant PR-strategy and explanation why Wasser is so high-profiled? I can’t forgive her Amber.

      • Miss M says:

        No it is not damaging to Jolie, if one or more of their children was/ were indeed abused by him.
        It sends a powerful message personally and professionally, as her humanitarian work involves looking after/reporting children in danger (i am not as familiar with her humanitarian role, so please correct me on this), etc.
        If she cannot look after her own children how can she have credibility on her humanitarian work?

      • pwal says:

        Not really. TMZ reported this, not Angelina.

        And yes, I like Brad a little than Angelina, maybe because dude get counted out a lot. But Brad has a problem, IMO, and I hope he doesn’t cloak himself behind HW goodwill because it’s a fcuking illusion. Getting help and not the cupcake HW rehab kind and earning back his family’s truzt is and it’s worth everything.

        I really don’t want him to be the Charlie Sheen/Alec Baldwin type of celebrity who is never held to account.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        TMZ still has that he IS being investigated as their top story. Interesting.

      • Jay (the Canadian one) says:

        When a woman says she was raped, we should consider her accusation credible. Why shouldn’t we do the same when she says her children were abused at the hands of their father? Both are serious accusations that would not be made lightly. And if she’s going to make something up, why would the kids be the victim not her? I’m inclined to believe her with the caveat that she *may* have a zero tolerance policy wherein all it took was him having a fit in their presence rather than directing any anger at anyone in particular. If a person has had abusive exes, the first signs of “oh no, here we go again” with their latest can be enough.

      • Esmom says:

        Jay, but did Angelina say the kids were abused? I don’t think she did, from what I have read someone anonymous called about the “incident” at the airport. And Jolie indicated that she would give Brad visitation, not supervised visitation. If he’d really abused and/or endangered one of the kids, why would she be willing to let him see the kids at all? Something doesn’t add up. Hopefully the truth, whatever the heck it might be, will be revealed sooner rather than later and the kids can get on with their lives in as normal of a fashion as possible.

      • SpecialK says:

        This whole thing stinks to high heaven. I’m going to refrain from speculation until the child custody hearing is complete. That will give a better idea what’s fact and what’s fiction when we find out custody rulings. If there is an issue with abuse, it will come out. Speculating on child abuse goes too far for me to feel comfortable.
        When your marriage is over and you’re hurt, you can elude or report things, embellish truths and in your mind think you are doing it for the best for your children. It happens all the time. No one no matter how famous is immune to it. I’m not saying that that has happened here, but until facts are out there I’m not buying any of these BS “reports” from either side.

      • Greyson says:

        Agreed. I’ve always like Angelina Jolie and have been a huge fan of Brangelina from the beginning.

        However, it looks like Jolie is going scorched earth and pulling parental alienation moves. It seems like since the relationship is over she is trying to push him out. Over the years she praised him as a father, now he’s a monster right as they divorce? Not buying it!

        Team Brad!

      • paranormalgirl says:

        @Greyson: how is she pulling “parental alienation moves”? She wants physical custody with Brad having visitation rights. When you try to alienate the other parent, you don’t even mention visitation.

      • Morning Coffee says:

        How does this make Angie look worse? If the allegations are true – I can’t fathom how this is her fault.

        Also, the fact that she praised him as a father doesn’t mean anything. If he has been spiraling downward into drugs/alcohol, perhaps his erratic behavior has just reached the point where she is no longer comfortable with him around her or the children? Perhaps the divorce filing is his wake up call.

      • rays kirt says:

        Thing is, I like Brad Pitt from what I have heard and seen of him. He seems like a genuinely good, caring guy who is family oriented. BUT, I don’t live with him or know about his potential issues. I also believe Angie is a protective, loving mother. I see both parents as truly loving their family.
        But, cut Angie A freaking break in way of spinning things in her favor if what went down, went down. If Brad were drunk and irate, acting harmful around the children, and an ANONYMOUS PARTY reported the incident ( hence, DCFS now investigating ), what could Angie do? It was already witnessed. She was worried for her kids, I doubt she’s one to break up her family and let her go kids go through a divorce while watching her haters rejoice without good merit. And if she stood by Pitt and he was found culpable, she could lose the kids, too. She had NO choice. She had to state what she did in those divorce papers. What was she gonna do? Lie and say Brad is great, give him joint custody for the sake of being likable? What dumbass weak mother would do that if they thought their spouse had an anger-substance problem and needed help. If he does need help, and plenty people say he has alcohol issues, she needs sole custody until he gets better. I would never change my divorce decree for a popularity contest..bite me!!! Her kids came first, this ain’t fun for her. This shouldn’t be about teams, its not a game. It’s a family breaking up for serious reasons. Team#get a life for choosing teams

    • Georgia says:

      I was wondering the same. Wasser is no stranger to a smearing campaign on TMZ… but I would hope Angelina Jolie wouldn’t stoop to that

      • Beatrice says:

        Remember the Halle Berry (also a Wasser client) campaign to destroy Gabriel Aubrey?

      • JESS82 says:

        how can it not be a smear campaign to some degree? even if she has her reasons, tmz/people/us weekly are getting their info from her team. LAPD says no investigation and DCFS says investigations are absolutely confidential. where else would the info be coming from? definitely not good for the children.

    • Nacelle says:

      Because Angelina would file for divorce quickly for no reason, right?

      • Anastasiia says:

        There is always a reason for divorce. And its not a rare thing when the other party is surprised with unexpected outcome.

      • Zuzus Girl says:

        Nacelle- You don’t know this was quickly, that’s just what the media is pushing. She may have had this in the works for months, she just didn’t tell you about it.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      It’s more that it’s police-department style to issue clarifications. They are not investigating AT THIS TIME and they are not HANDLING child abuse allegations. This does not mean they were not at first called in and it does not mean more appropriate agencies are not handling any allegations. It could be they’re done with their piece and social services is handling the rest.

      Or not.

      We have to wait and see. Generally, the truth will out.

    • MyHiddles says:

      Just because there is no active police investigation does NOT mean there is no active DCFS investigation. They can be, and often are, two separate things.

    • Colette says:

      Brad released a statement that he is “cooperating” so obviously he was investigated by some agency.

    • Flowerydefense says:

      Good for Brad. I am glad the LAPD cleared this up.

      I hope the best for this couple. IT’s all very sad. I hope Brad gets help , rehab , etc for substance use, alkohol, etc and I truly hope it doesn’t go even more scorched earth with these two. They truly seemed to have love and adored each other. I hope Brad gets any help he needs and Angelina and he can find peace between them.

    • Tig says:

      she was also Gavin’s lawyer against Gwen Stefani and she had no problem letting Vanity Fair portray her as Gwen’s lawyer.

    • nikko says:

      I don’t see Brad as a child abuser, if so she would of left along time ago. He probably just snatched the kid back from walking a certain way and Angie didn’t like it and decided it was abuse. Hell, the kid probably needed some discispline.

      • paranormalgirl says:

        you weren’t there, were you?

      • Scarlett says:

        I thought the same thing. Maybe he just lost it after her letting the kids run wild for so long. A spanking, screaming at them maybe. If he hit the kids I think Angie would have called cops and had him immediately arrested.

      • S says:

        Um, spanking is hitting the kids, first of all. Secondly, just losing it on your kids is terrible parenting and could be abusive – if you want to make a change in your discipline style, you don’t do it in the heat of the moment, without talking about it with your partner, etc. Third, those kids by all reports are well behaved. Not “running wild.”

      • lucy2 says:

        I have to think, after so many years and kids together, it was much more than that to prompt her to so quickly file for divorce.

      • Simone says:

        I have no dog in this fight, but trust me when I say you can NOT tell if a person is an abuser because they “don’t seem the type.”

      • rays kirt says:

        That’s a bold statement. And maybe his issues recently escalated.

    • Mila says:

      Not really. But it all comes down to what Angie wants. And it is pretty clear she does not want Pitt next to the kids. Why, we don’t know but this is divorce is gonna be huge.

      I am glad Jolie got good team, since the public seems to think she is the bad guy. Not sure why. Probably cos Pitt is all American boy and he cannot do anything wrong. 😉

      • LAK says:

        To me, hiring Laura Wasser immediately makes me suspect your motivations. She’s the Johnny Cochrane of divorce lawyers.

    • C'est la Vie says:

      LAK, I’m with you and others on the Wasser style of confusion and misdirection. I can’t ever forgive her for taking Gibson or Depp on as clients, or what she did to Heard, either. So, where did this call for help come from then? LAX? Anonymously? Right? Right. And now the FBI is involved? Uh huh. When are they going to put out their official statement on this global crisis? God, Wasser is something else.

      It’s going to be all hearsay and he said, she said, unless photos or videos are going to show up on TMZ. Probably not People, like Heard’s. And why not mention DCFS’s involvement earlier, in the past weeks? There’s no crime in that. Now it’s just going to be used as possible evidence in the divorce. They’re investigating, nothing’s been proven. He’s not going to be arrested, even for drinking on a plane and getting loud in front of children, even his own – I’ve seen those families who have been coming from Disney World, or anywhere doing that. They don’t even get reprimanded on the plane. Where are all of those fans who loved the fact that the Jolie-Pitt’s owned a vineyard? Do I hear crickets chirping? And there’s no real news on what he allegedly did. Typical Wasser smear. It’s not a solid case proving anything and Wasser knows that.

      It’s pretty obvious Wasser’s team dropped their last bomb with another claim of child abuse, as in him being investigated for it by the LAPD and since they aren’t arresting him for it, Wasser moved on to the DCFS – investigation ongoing. And the FBI is not going to get involved in a domestic dispute. Esp. since it was reported in LA. No. They have more important things to do. Than to deal with what was called an incident. Abuse is not an incident, damn it, it’s a crime. What a fucking smear campaign. Again.

      It’s beginning to sound like a conspiracy theory. FFS.

      • CorruptLobbyist says:

        It only begins to look like a conspiracy theory when you are frantically twisting every fact to benefit Pitt. We get it. You are a fan girl.

      • C'est la Vie says:

        Guess what? Not so much. I’ve liked a few of his movies, a few of hers. I could probably watch Gia and Fight Club on a loop. Maybe throw in Mr & Mrs. Smith. For a day. I’m thinking that’s what this trial is going to be like. Right? Like Battlefield Earth, it’ll be great. But they didn’t bother me as a couple, I thought they were fine. Didn’t give it much of a thought.

        But let’s get serious for a second. I don’t like Wasser or her horrific legal style. Or her client list. Am I supposed to be guessing that are a fanboy/girl of Wasser, Gibson, Depp or Jolie? God, I hope I haven’t sunk that low to use that as a put down. Surely, if you bothered to comment, you could have come up with some better comebacks than that. What a waste of space and effort here on this very serious gossip site. Celebitchy! I’m even throwing in a product placement, just for you.

        And we get it, you like to demean women by calling them fan girls, instead of bothering to read what they’ve actually written. Which was OBVIOUSLY sarcasm, you know. Conspiracy theory? Of course! You are what we (l like to refer to myself as we, much like the Queen) like to call one of the idiots of the Internet. Definitely, not God’s gift to anyone. But thank you for your opinion. And as my mother always likes to say, Bless Your Heart. It did make me laugh. A lot. Goodbye.

        * But I’ll be expecting another idiotic reply soon. Please don’t disappoint, I’ll be so sad.

  2. Sayrah says:

    I don’t know what to make of this.

    • Naya says:

      Me either and I’m starting to get whiplash. Enough Brangelina for me today.

      • SilverUnicorn says:

        Same. Waving the white flag here.

      • Kitten says:

        This is worse than Depp V. Heard.

        Did anybody see my question on the other thread? Is it possible that CPS is investigating and NOT LAPD? Do the two organizations have to work in tandem?

        Sorry for the dumb questions but (thankfully) I have no experience with this stuff.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        Could be that CPS investigates and determines if there is reason to charge anyone with a crime (of abuse). Not a dumb question – there are no dumb questions!

        We probably have people who work for/with CPS on this site and they may enlighten us, but given the nature of child abuse, age and dependence and vulnerability of its victims, and complexity of family relationships, it could be that CPS is tasked with figuring out what happened. Police could then arrest if deemed necessary but I would think that there are a lot of other steps along the way first.

      • swak says:

        @Kitten, when the neighbor called CPS on me (in retalliation to my daughter calling Animal Control because the neighbor’s dog bit my 2 year old grandson). No police were involved. I was contacted that they would be out to interview not only myself but my grandchildren (who I watch) and my daughters. But I live in the midwest and these type of things could vary from state to state.

      • Christin says:

        Kitten, in my state, they are separate. By law, anyone who suspects possible child abuse must report it to a CPS 800-hotline. Callers can remain anonymous. Cases or investigations are prioritized, based on severity of the allegations.

        Obviously LE would get involved if allegations/investigations rise to a criminal level. My reference point is a relative who was in LE for decades, and participating in a leadership class study related to child abuse with our regional child advocacy center (which was enlightening, but heartbreaking).

      • Alicat1822 says:

        I’m with you both. This is exhausting! The stories that are out there range in degrees of credibility, and now everything new that comes out feels like it’s been vetted so carefully that you can only step away from the fray and hope things get sorted. And people are held accountable for their actions. We’ve learned how important it is to “show the receipts”. I feel that Angelina and her team are very well aware that she needs to be able to provide corroborating evidence to explain why Brad should only have visitation vs. custody. We’ll see where the shrapnel hits…who knows? But I have to come up for air.

      • C'est la Vie says:

        Kitten and others, if the LAPD is not arresting him for child abuse – then DCFS is going to go through a Farrow and Allen sort of investigation. DCFS makes their investigation and decision on the household, alleged abuse, unsafe parenting, etc. After their decision, Jolie and Pitt both get their respective experts, witnesses, etc. and vie for custody/visitation rights, in court. As of now, Jolie has been named as the only adult witness, to and remember this is the alleged abuse by Pitt – though it’s carefully worded to be called – got physical with a child. That’s harder for anyone to decipher. That makes me a bit confused, because the LAPD would have arrested him for abuse if he got physical with anyone, much less a child. Getting physical is abuse. Then it’s up to the judge at the end of looking through all the evidence to decide what happens.

        As for how this has been handled, DCFS would have kept this private, if it hadn’t been released – probably by Wasser. I’m also surprised that an order of protection hasn’t been filed, but perhaps that will happen soon.

      • C'est la Vie says:

        And to add to this – since the whole incident was reported to I’m not sure who at this point, DCFS can work alone, they can take a child away from an unsafe home, from Mom and Dad, but usually there is a caseworker assigned to the family. And they cannot just do it without evidence that it’s unsafe for the child. Hence, the ongoing investigations or just involvement with the family, which can take years, esp. if you work in Chicago or any other large urban areas. In this case the LAPD was called by DCFS, questioned Pitt, are not investigating him and not arresting him for child abuse. Case closed at least with the LAPD on that issue.

    • Placebo says:

      Neither do I. I’m really sad cause I loved them as a couple.

    • cindy says:

      I’m confused as hell.

  3. Jen says:

    Now reports are stating LA authorities (not necessarily the LAPD) had a discussion with Brad about something that happened involving one child on 9/14.

    • Placebo says:

      😳

    • Santia says:

      Child Protective Services (or whatever it’s called in CA) is NOT the police.

    • TrueStory says:

      Had a “discussion”?

      “Unnamed LA Authorities”?

      No. Angie started this by filing with vague accusations ….tooo many people and serious accusations are being flung around.

      Everything from the Cory Haim stuff, Marion C baby and now CPS child abuse investigations.

      She needs to release a statement and be VERY clear about what prompted the divorce. Otherwise MAJOR BACKLASH. this doesn’t look good

    • OhDear says:

      Whatever it was, it must have been bad enough for her to have the separation date as 9/15.

      As Lainey would say, this is sad smut.

  4. Aims says:

    This is such a sad situation . I’m proud of Angelina for putting her babies first.

    • BeBea says:

      Yep, now the ball is rolling and there is no way to stop it, reports are also saying that there was a disagreement between the adults on how to handle Shiloh wanting to transition and this is what lead to the end. this is a full blown MESS for the whole family, and this will be my last comment, I can’t afford any headaches on there account. I wish them the best. lol

    • Dana m says:

      I can bet you $ that this is not the first time he may have behaved this way. A one time drunken incident, perhaps forgivable. However, if this type of behavior has occurred before, it’s shows his true character and I’d leave him too ASAP. Babies come first- always.

  5. QQ says:

    I’m surprised this is going full Johnny Depp instead of Paltrow/Afflecks Like for reals

    • SilverUnicorn says:

      Surprised too. Especially because they seemed so private in the past.
      Now all these sources leaking… well, are they really connected to them or it is just people making up stories, trowing them into the mix and see what’s sticking?

      What. A. Mess. I’m outta of here…….

      • Em' says:

        In what way were they private exactly ? They sold pictures of their newborn babies and their wedding to magazine, I don’t call that private.
        They always knew how to keep their sh!t locked, that’s for sure but they also knew how to be seen when that suited them. They played the game better than anyone else in Hollywood.
        Angelina Jolie is a PR genius and I don’t mean it as a shade. Which is very telling when you see the way all this is playing out

      • notasugarhere says:

        Selling the first photos and donating the money to charity took the paparazzi “bounty” off their childrens heads.

    • Kitten says:

      Me too. Always thought that if it ended between them it would be conscious-uncoupling style.

      For a celeb gossip story, this is somehow heavy as hell. Makes me feel kinda bummy.

      • Artemis says:

        That’s what the fans said all the time. If they ever split up, it would be amicable and private while they co-parent the kids. Like, this is so far from the fantasy they created about two flawed human beings, it’s no wonder they are already pondering about a reconciliation in every thread. People can’t handle it for real. For them to become friendly would be a massive step at this point.

      • Esmom says:

        It is really bummy and messy and awful. I just don’t know what to make of it because I also would have guessed they’d find a way to be civil for the kids, no matter what really happened.

      • yolo112 says:

        @Artemis Yeah, but no one ever expected them to split up because of something like this. I suppose the million dollar question is – can Angie forgive Brad? This is a huge line of trust broken. Angie adopted those kids to give them a better life, certainly not a life involving abuse. I mean, these actions goes against the very thing she stands for…

        I hate to make a joke about such a horrible situation but I’m surprised the private plane didn’t look like the house at the end of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. When I personally went through a similar situation, it took ever fiber of my being not to go full nuclear. She must have been UBER effing strong to maintain some sense of composure in front of the whole family while this happened. God, what a mess. My heart hurts for all of them. I truly hope Brad recognizes his problem and gets help. gawh.. so sad..

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Agree on both points. I never thought it would be so public and messy. The allegations are really sad and troubling. Child harm is devastating to read about no matter who does it.

      • SM says:

        Angelina always strikes me as someone who if once crossed would just ban you fromher life completely or do something similar to what Charlize did to Sean Penn. But I assumed that if that happened it would be because Brad would missbehave or cheat. But never this. And however Pitt’s team sugarcoats this whole mess now (alcohol, temporal insanity, disciplin of the kids, etc) he obviously did do something unacceptable and probably not just put a kid in line or punished someone for missbehaving but actualy did get physical, otherwise there wouldn’t be such specific leaks. If it were just a power play by Angelina (which I admit, I did assume at the beggining) I don’t think she would agree or greenligh these leaks because they eventually will do damage to childeren. Something made public these days can not be taken back. Maybe she is doing that to show them that she did whatever was necessary to protect them.

      • rays kirt says:

        It always seems like people who are believed to be abusive have to not be popular. Jekyll had his Hyde. Cool people can be angry drunks. And so called Homewreckers can be good, honest parents.

      • Veronica says:

        It gives us insight as to why TMZ was the one to break the news and why she went forward with the filing so quickly. If there were witnesses and video, it was a matter of time before it leaked.

  6. huh says:

    And the fan girls heave a sigh of relief. Bibi817(?) amirite?

  7. Colette says:

    I agree,there was no reason to add “actively pursuing”,that speaks volumes to me.Also LAPD is not the only police agency.As for DCFS are they even allowed to respond about an investigation or allegation?
    As I said before I think it was more verbal abuse and possibly he pushed a child.I really doubt he struck a child.His denial was weak,IMO

    • Jellybean says:

      “A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said that rumours were false and the actor was neither under investigation nor had any allegations been made against him” That was from The Guardian, London, which is a pretty solid newspaper.

      • Colette says:

        People Magazine only mentioned DCFS investigating him not LAPD.Since his statement said he is cooperating,obviously somebody did an investigation.

  8. Juls says:

    Maybe she had no choice. If They were interviewed by children’s services, and know the children will be interviewed, it’s possible she feared state intervention and the possible (temporary) loss of her children. So, perhaps, and I’m speculating here, she felt she had no choice but to ditch him to save her children from “The system”.
    As a mother, I would make that choice too. If, IF he abused them in some way, it’s not even a choice really.

    • whiskeyjack says:

      Juls, that’s what I’ve been thinking. The thought of the state taking temporary custody of any of your children is terrifying. It’s the one thing that would prompt any mother to do something so seemingly rash.

      My ex called CPS one time because his daughter had a bruise on her bottom. When he asked her how it happened she kept saying, “my mom did it,” but she was also laughing. He told CPS what she had said, he really didn’t know what else to do and so had called them, and that that night she was supposed to be with her mom. CPS flat out said, if you let her mom take her we will step in and there is a good possibility she will be placed in state custody with a temporary foster family. It was scary, it turned out his daughter was just, well, lying I guess, and she’d actually fallen at school. What I remember very well was how threatening they were toward him. We live in California.

      • mayamae says:

        I think you guys are on the right track. I posted the day the story broke that I thought this was a tough love move by Angie, to force Brad into some sort of rehab. But this is also a strong possibility. Someone kept posting yesterday that Angie was wrong in her actions, and should have simply called child services herself. I restrained myself from responding, but I thought the post was ridiculous. Who in the world calls child services on themselves?? And who would take the chance that their children would be removed from the home? Some foster homes are good, but many are hell on earth. One temporary removal can traumatize a child and cause long-term issues.

    • Agapanthus says:

      I completely agree. If what we are hearing is true, it is terrible for them all, especially the kids. But what I don’t understand is why AJ would make this public, and who is leaking this stuff? Is it part of Wasser’s strategy and why?

    • Size Does Matter says:

      Agree completely. I think her hands were tied, especially with outside witnesses. She wouldn’t want the state to take the kids away from them both.

      I truly don’t understand the comments saying that she has done something wrong and is trying to smear him. If she just wanted a divorce, she could have gotten one. I believe something awful happened in front of witnesses, and it’s not like she included these allegations in her filing.

      • Em' says:

        The questions come from the very public way she handled. I really believe that she put her kids ‘ safety first. But why did she announce on tuesday morning just after Emmy weekends? Why go to TMZ?
        You can’t tell she didn’t want us to pay attention. She is Angelina Jolie, she knows how to play the game and she plays it like a boss

      • Size Does Matter says:

        I doubt she’s the one who went to TMZ.

      • notasugarhere says:

        As others said in a different thread, it may have been partly to shut her father up. If she had filed before the award show, her father and his comments would have been the talk of the Emmy’s. Given how he endangered her adoption of Maddox. here’s no way she’d allow him the Emmy’s as a platform about this.

      • Veronica says:

        Was it ever not going to be public, though, especially if video really does exist? How long did she really have before the news hit newspapers and she lost total control of the narrative?

      • Jellybean says:

        From what I gather you do not have to “go to TMZ”, if you file in LA they will get it within the hour; they have sources within the court system. Wasser will file on a Friday, out of town or with other celebrities to reduce the media impact. The key thing is that she was clearly told to either file as quickly as possible or to file at a time designed to gain maximum impact. Hopefully it was the quickly as possible option, which would at least make sense if she was trying to distance herself from the outburst, knowing that both the authorities and media would be getting involved. Until the FBI and child services complete their investigations we will not know if this was anything more than a messy row within a family on the verge of splitting or a cause for official concern. If the authorities come back with nothing I think Jolie will be seen as pretty ruthless and possibly vindictive. If the authorities act against Pitt then I guess he is out of their lives for good.

    • Melanie says:

      Yes @Juls! Finally a voice of reason. If an anonymous person called from the tarmac, AJ may have been thrown into this whirlwind just like Brad. She may very well have had little choice in the matter. If DCFS in involved (and possibly the FBI!?) AJ may have needed to act very quickly to protect her kids. Not saying with her wealth and power that they would ever be removed, which I find highly unlikely, but she may have been pushed into this.

      Perhaps there have been issues with Brad before but they’ve worked it out privately as a family. If you have a random flight attendant or airport employee making this call, you know it’s going public and the shit is gonna hit the fan.

      • Luca76 says:

        Yeah and she’s handled this so aggressively to get ahead of the story so as not to be tainted by what’s coming next. I do believe Lainey’s characterization that there’s still love on both sides but I think he’s in denial at how serious the consequences could be for his family.

      • Jellybean says:

        I hope you are are right. I guess we need to wait and see how the investigation turns out. If Pitt is cleared hopefully Joile will drop the sole custody request. If he isn’t, hopefully he will agree to her terms quickly and quietly and do what he needs to do to to gain more access in the future.

    • jmacky says:

      yes. the public and legal fallout takes this from something that might have been privately mitigated to bringing in law enforcement and child protective services. Angelina is put in the place of either getting ahead of the law and showing she is a safe parent or being a passive parent, worse enabling abuse. and she might be angry from an ego perspective as well as an angry, protective mama bear. i don’t doubt they prob both still love each other but there is some major mental damage…

      Angelina is not going to sacrifice being a mom and this is not to diminish the prime importance of protecting children and keeping a family safe, she has her personal diplomatic/political career. that transition out of hollywood to humanitarian/politician/academic has no legs if she can’t protect her own children from violence. her international humanitarian work has been built on protecting the vulnerable–women, children in conflict zones.

      i agree with other posters that abusers are not inhuman demons who hide behind masks…that is a little simplistic. unfortunately we are all capable of violence, this is the bulk of social science and philosophical work post WWII. everyday people do terrible things. genocide is committed by neighbors, not a few sociopaths. Brad can be someone who loves his family and prone to violence under substance and depression. not an excuse, but a reason to restructure the family unit–to do as the divorce petition says, make a healthier, safer unit because the current system is not working, for whatever reason.
      divorce is not the worst thing to happen to a family where there are mental health issues. it doesn’t mean the violent parent can’t heal—but the violent parent HAS lost the privilege of being an authority figure in that unit. something broke in the alleged violent act, not the legal filing.

  9. Bex says:

    That’s really weird. Maybe it’s been handed off to another department and isn’t being handled by them specifically? I don’t know how American policing works. TMZ did state the LAPD though, and they’ve normally got good sources for this stuff. It’s out there now. I agree about the ‘actively pursuing’ bit, that’s careful wording.

  10. SilverUnicorn says:

    So the last thread was…..useless? LOL
    I think that they should all shut up (sources included) at this point, for the welfare of those kids.

    The fact Laura Wasser is also involved… starts to be creepy after the Depp divorce.

    • Naya says:

      “I think that they should all shut up (sources included) at this point, for the welfare of those kids.” This x1000.

      • paleokifaru says:

        Yep. People like to forget that custody issues get really ugly. I think even if you’re in the right and protecting your kids, that should also include trying to protect their privacy. And before people jump on me like they have with Naya, I get that people view it as protecting the abuser. BUT I’ve known abused kids and they hate when their business is aired. Kids also want the ability to control their own narrative. And especially when we’re looking at a divorce with custody it’s important to remember not to just jump to conclusions and assume that one person is the hero and the other is the victim. These threads are already spiraling out of control with rumors, blind items that must be true and a lot of adamant statements about Team whomever. Can you imagine if people on the internet were making this kind of blood sport of your own family? It’s forgetting the complexities of relationships, anger, hurt, disappointment and love. Divorce isn’t simple and it should be handled with the family first.

    • Colette says:

      It’s not, if the Sheriff’s department received the allegation.Also there is nothing funny at all about this situation.

  11. burnsie says:

    I said this on the other thread, but is it possible that he’s not being investigated for *child* abuse, but that he got violent or physical with another adult(s) on the plane?

    • SilverUnicorn says:

      In that case, it is strange that the children services were involved…

      • notasugarhere says:

        Not really. If an intoxicated and drug-impaired adult was wailing on other adults in front of kids, I’d expect child services to get a call to look into things.

        Was child services called with the whole (alleged deliberate) Thanksgiving beat down of Aubry by Martinez happened? Or did Berry deliberately make it clear to police that Nahla had been removed from the situation by a nanny before any adult violence occurred, so no need to get child services involved?

      • doofus says:

        maybe they consider the children to be at risk for simply being present for violent behavior?…

        don’t know, of course, just theorizing like all of us…

  12. GreenieWeenie says:

    This just bums me out. I grew up in a very large, diverse family but around a lot of conflict, tension and anger. I think I liked the dream of the Jolie-Pitts fairytale childhood with two impossibly beautiful parents and an impossibly privileged lifestyle involving this country-hopping reality of lycées interspersed with visits to refugee camps, barefoot grape stomping at the winery, gluttonous toy store indulgences and Buttock Futtock scribbled on dad’s blueprints.

    Turns out they’re just as human as we are. What a disappointment.

  13. Kerfuffles says:

    Sounds like maybe CPS is investigating but the police are not involved, at least not yet. And just because CPS is investigating doesn’t mean something awful in fact went down. They have a duty to investigate every complaint. I hope it is all a big misunderstanding.

  14. Caitiecait says:

    Just because LAPD isn’t investigating doesn’t mean that Child Services isn’t investigating. They are two separate entities.

    • OhDear says:

      Exactly. All they’re saying is that Pitt likely did not commit a crime. However, he could have still put the kids in a situation where it’s not safe (emotionally or otherwise) for them.

      • Juls says:

        In all likelihood, police were called first. They assessed the situation at the scene, did not find cause for any charges to be filed. Determined that the situation at hand would be more appropriately handled by children’s services, so the police called them in.

    • Kate says:

      But it does suggest that whatever the incident was, there was no obvious evidence it was criminal.

      People were speculating on the other thread that he might have beat one of the kids up. With no police involvement we can probably rule out anything quite that major.

  15. McCaul-Miller says:

    As a mandated reporter in my field, my experience has been that some people call child line (to file a report) whether there, or is not, incidents of abuse. Therefore, whether children’s services are investigating, or not, does not mean that there was or was not abuse.
    This all seems incredibly insidious, and the negative influence on the children is concerning.

    • PunkyMomma says:

      Yes. I guess I just don’t understand what is going on here. Brad and Angelina can battle their split however they choose, but if there aren’t acts of abuse upon the children, please, keep the kids out of it.

    • Elaine says:

      Yes. I’m not enjoying this scorched-earth policy. This is not gossip Christmas.

      Can we just use the ‘conscious-uncoupling’ playbook? Brad. Angie. Call up Goop. Please? She knows how to do it right. *smdh*

    • Christin says:

      I think that’s what some may not realize. Anyone can report anything (anonymously) through those CPS hotlines. And CPS (or DFS) must prioritize based on severity of allegations and investigate.

    • GreenieWeenie says:

      I find this comment impossible to follow.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        They are saying that just because there was a call, and just because there is an investigation, doesn’t mean that abuse actually occurred. Sometimes investigations happen even when there was no abuse.

        I think they are just cautioning against jumping to conclusions.

    • Tulip Garden says:

      Yes, I Agee. Also this coverage must be devastating for the children whether true or not. If, and that is a big if, it turns out that Pitt and Jolie’s unraveling marriage led to….well, all of whatever this is then it may turn out better if they do divorce and, hopefully, co-parent peacefully.

  16. Saras says:

    Unless he was arrested by them he would be dealing with CPS. Also airport security could have been the responders or just some jet/ private staff reported the outburst. I am sure we will find out more details shortly… Hugs to the kiddos!

  17. Betti says:

    Its probably because LAPD are NOT involved in the CPS investigation at this point in time – that may change in the future depending on the outcome of the other investigation. They are 2 separate entities. There is nothing to suggest that this is smear from Wasser/Jolie – there is way to much as stake for them to be throwing out false child abuse allegations.

  18. Whatwhatnot says:

    Maybe they were called, came in and didn’t notice anything particularly disturbing, and decided not to pursue. Usually, it is then referred to some Child Protective Service agency and they come in and do a few home visits etc.

    I have seen this happen a few times. Sometimes you have parents who have two different styles of parenting. Ones who support corporal punishment (in restraint) and those who don’t at all. And sometimes tha parent that does dish out spankings etc, may get a bit overwhelmed, angry,etc and the parent who is against corporal/other family/friends get ACS/CPS agencies involved. Nothing drastic really happens in these cases, but parent ends up having to do some parenting/anger management classes and then the case is closed within a year.

    At least i am *hoping* this is the case with them, for the kids sake.

  19. roses says:

    Sounds like he spoke to LAPD about the incident but their not investigating probably the CPS is handling. Seems LAPD are being careful with their wording since its says below he cooperated.
    http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/22/entertainment/brad-pitt-angelina-jolie/
    Brad Pitt spoke with Los Angeles authorities recently about an incident involving one of his children with Angelina Jolie, who filed for divorce this week.
    A source with knowledge of the situation said Thursday: “[Brad] is taking this very seriously and he’s cooperated. He has always worked hard to be a good father and wants to do whatever is best for his family.”

  20. Freddy Spaghetti says:

    Laura Wasser doesn’t mess around. Pitt’s team is clearly not eating or sleeping in order to keep up with her and Angelina, who is famous for never having had a pr team or even a publicist. I still think that he’ll end up signing divorce papers real soon because it’s very clear that Angelina wants out.

    • LittleTeaPot says:

      Do we even know who is representing Pitt at this point? Maybe he wants out of this relationship just as badly as she does.

  21. Susan says:

    If the plane landed in unincorporated LA county and not within LA municipal boundaries, then LAPD wouldn’t even have jurisdiction. It’s possible another agency is handling it like the LA Sheriff Department which is the primary policing agency for unincorporated LA county. It seemed a little strange the original story made a point of saying the plane landed in LA county. Or it could be with DCFS who recommends action to LAPD.

    Or maybe since it happened in the air, LAPD said they have no jurisdiction and can’t actively investigate.

    • Susan says:

      So what I wrote is completely correct. People has confirmed that DCFS is investigating, not the LAPD *and* TMZ has confirmed that there are jurisdiction issues with law enforcement due to it happening on the plane.

      In any event, I wouldn’t be surprised if law enforcement is never involved. Most child abuse/neglect is handled without criminal charges but with involvement of case workers and potentially custody restrictions. Look at the girl who was in the news yesterday because her father was pulling her through Walmart by her hair. Local police said they couldn’t arrest him because there were no visible injuries on the child. But that doesn’t mean he can lose custody.

    • Lucky Charm says:

      I heard that the plane landed in Minnesota (hence LAPD has no jurisdiction), and the FBI is investigating.

  22. Riley says:

    FWIW, this is my take:

    The “incident” was serious enough where it is likely that DCFS WILL investigate. There were witnesses that saw Brad do whatever he did. She filed for divorce because if she didn’t, they would face possibly removing children from home and she will go farther to protect her children than she will to protect him. If there weren’t witnesses, she might have handled this privately.

    • Juls says:

      @Riley, I said something similar up thread but I think you added to that and said it better than I. This has been my line of thinking all along but I could be wrong. After all, Angelina should be that LAST person to worry about the state interfering with her parental rights. I guess we will have to wait and see……

      • Riley says:

        I hadn’t read your post but just did now. Agreed on all points. Whatever “it” was, is serious enough for her to think immediate action was required. Very sad, but if that’s the case, her actions were justified.

  23. TheOtherMaria says:

    I feel so bad for those children, their worlds are turned upside down, with everyone watching (and clearly enjoying based on the previous Pitt thread) no less.

    Folks really need to chill a bit….

  24. LittleTeaPot says:

    Everything at this point is speculation but there has been much damage done to Brad and the children. Brad has a lot to climb out from under. He needs to speak up quickly. If he does not, he is either guilty or so desperate to get out that he has willingly throwing himself under the bus. I think there is a great deal more going on here than we will ever know.

  25. Wiccanwonder says:

    I do hope that the children are being kept away from any form of media reporting at the moment. It must be so upsetting for them. Even if their dad was shouting or drunk on that plane (which is not 100% confirmed at this point) they will still love him and their mother. People are saying the most awful things without the facts and the gutter press are having a field day. I hate social media at times too, the keyboard warriors etc al. The fact is AJ is really mad at BP for something serious and there will be a battle for the children. I’m sure she will have thought this through before filing. Anyone with children, especially six, would not divorce just because of a trivial matter. I hope they can sort a solution.

  26. ms.o says:

    Its possible that if the airport was outside city limits, then its the Sheriff’s Office investigation and not police department. Or if the airport was John Wayne, then it wouldn’t be LA either.

  27. Sixer says:

    I think I will bow out of this one until we know what actually happened and we aren’t speculating on the welfare of children.

    • Spidey says:

      @ Sixer, it’s a pity the press won’t do the same thing!

      • Sheila says:

        Hi Spidey and Sixer,
        This whole sordid mess makes me long for Tiddleswift and ridiculous staged faux romance. Thats why we loved it so, it was light, fun and ridiculoud. Because this kind of terrible family drama is horrifying, truly. The speed at which information, misinformation and speculation are flying just has me more convinced that I could never live “publicly.” Refraining from too much judgement at this point and hoping those kids are ok!

      • Spidey says:

        Yes, Sheila – at least Tom and Taylor weren’t hurting others.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Me to, Sixer. Sigh.

    • detritus says:

      I think I’m with you.
      Poor babies.
      Poor Angie.

      She doesn’t deserve this shit if she’s just trying to protect her kids. There is no easy or right way to act or resolve this situation, and I bet she’s just trying her best.

      I hope this is the kick in the ass Brad needs and he gets his shit together. His relationship with Angie is prob fubared but maybe he can still be there for his kids if he gets in line.

      • JenniferJustice says:

        Exactly! Just heard on the radio the FBI is now involved and they made it clear it’s not about child abuse. That’s CPS’s job. I imagine the FBI is investigating the drug aspect of this debacle – he was one drugs (doesn’t matter what kind) and probably had drugs on him – in the air internationally. That plane was flying from France back to the U.S.

        And CPS is definitely investigating Pitt for child abuse. There are two separate investigations going on for two different possible crimes. CPS is investigating him for “…verbally and physically abusing one of his children with Angelina in front of their other children.” Think about that – one of his children with Angelina…is it just me, or does that imply it’s one of their biological children? Maybe it’s just odd wording.

        Angeline didn’t really have a choice about this. If she did nothing and this came out, which it would, she’d be vilified for protecting Brad over her kids. There were air crew, ground crew, and other witnesses. It wasn’t Angelina that contacted authorities. Once that was done, she’s under the microscope too. I’m glad she did not request supervised visitation. She doesn’t have to because CPS and the courts will do that once they interview everyone involved. Let them be the bad guys for the pro-Pitts.

        *He used to be Brad Pitt. Now he’s just arm pitt.

      • detritus says:

        Arm Pitt. I can get behind that. And I agree with absolutely everything you’ve written here.

        Who would have thought two of my childhood heart throbs were going to be exposed as scum in 2016. I was laughing the other day that I ever chose Tom Cruise over Brad Pitt. Depp always won over both. Not so funny now.

        Im worried for one of their bio children in particular and I sincerely hope they are all ok.

      • JenniferJustice says:

        Me too. Hard not to read between the lines and speculate, but it’s too soon and there’s not enough reliable information yet. I have NEVER been a Saint Angie fan but I don’t see how she’s done anything wrong. He did. We don’t exactly what it was, but whatever it was, he got himself into trouble and sent his family into a tailspin.

        While there is no concrete evidence, it’s kind of silly for people to think this is a one-time thing or that it just now happened – the drug part….and damn it! It isn’t pot!

  28. Anon says:

    I take this to mean that either a. the case is currently being investigated by CPS and that the LAPD doesn’t get involved until CPS determines the threat to the children is credible (anyone can report a threat to CPS, and they HAVE to investigate it, so until the investigation concludes a threat is real I’m not sure LAPD gets involved, but could be wrong OR b. they were outside LAPD’s jurisdiction

    I don’t think statement helped AJ at face value, but I also don’t think it helped BP.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      The local police need not conduct any investigation or be involved at all, regardless of the findings of the children’s services agency. The agency has its own investigators, specially trained and its own legal department. Depending on the state laws, the agency’s own lawyers may handle any prosecution or litigation or the case may be handed over to county district attorneys for any criminal prosecution with agency attorneys handling civil aspects of the case – like custody or visitation issues, while other states may turn the whole shebang over to the state attorney general for all aspects of the case. With no involvement from local police.

    • MrsBPitt says:

      TMZ is reporting that the case has been turned over to the FBI because it happened in the air…it also states the plane landed in Minnesota….Brad must have been out of control to the point that the pilot had to land the plane…

      • Anon says:

        “Brad must have been out of control to the point that the pilot had to land the plane…” that’s my fear too. Those poor kids. I hope he gets help so that he can be a father to them again, but my heart just breaks for them.

      • trilby227 says:

        They stopped in Minnesota to refuel the plane.

      • Carmen says:

        Doubtful. Stopping to refuel would be part of the scheduled flight plan. According to the reports, this was an unscheduled landing.

  29. JRenee says:

    I would not allow my spouse to be slandered like this if all of the rumors were being printed. I would issue a statement stating that there is no merit to any of the horrible allegations of 3rd parties or child abuse and it’s a private matter, but please understand our children will be harmed if tge rumors continue.
    This is quick and ugly in 3 days…sad!!

    • Colette says:

      What ?
      Did he release a statement to address all the allegations made about her over the last 12 years,calling her a heroin addict,cheater,etc
      Is she supposed to release daily statements addressing rumors.People magazine said he that was cooperating so obviously there was some type of investigation.He can release a statement saying he was accused of A,B and C if he wants to.

    • JenniferJustice says:

      While we shouldn’t speculate, it’s just as speculative to assume they are all rumors. Why would she deny something that might come out later as absolutely true, possibly worse than we know so far. Her hands are tied at this point.

  30. Who ARE These People? says:

    From what has further been described, it could well have been a common scenario: Pitt was fighting with her, getting nasty, maybe one of the older boys tried to step in to protect her, Pitt pushed him/yelled at him. Ugh.

    • Tulip Garden says:

      Very common and very likely. I got in between my parents as a teenager during a really heated screaming match. While it was loud and frightening, it was an isolated event.

    • Anon says:

      I think this is pretty likely. I suspect it was one of the older ones, maybe Pax. I could see Angelina seeing red at that point and the noise from that either resulting in the pilot landing the plane, or her asking them too so that she could get him away from the kids. I wouldn’t blame her, I don’t know what I would do if my spouse laid a hand on my child but it wouldn’t be civil.

    • MSat says:

      There is a new story up at Entertainment Weekly in which a source close to Brad says that this is exactly what happened. Brad was drunk, he and Jolie were arguing, things escalated, and one of the older boys stepped in between him and Jolie. They don t say which boy, but I’d be willing to bet it was Maddox. He is 15 now and is VERY close to his mom. Don’t forget, he was there before Brad was!

      Angelina has always had a very strong bond with Maddox. I can totally see her dumping Brad for threatening him. She dumped her last husband over Maddox so it fits her pattern.

  31. Paige says:

    I don’t know what to believe. I don’t think Brad should labeled as a child abuser if he has never abused his children. But it’s still horrible having a father with alcoholic issues. I think this has been going on for some time and I think whatever happened on that plane was the last straw for Angelina. Brad should get the help he needs. Even if he isn’t a child abuser, living with a person who drinks too much is an emotional wreck. Angelina is always going to be painted as a villian by the media. The comments on Daily Mail and D-listed make me want to vomit.

  32. Steph O says:

    I used to work for a nonprofit in CA and I was a mandated reporter for child or dependent adult / elder abuse. When I filled out reports of suspected child abuse, the report would go to DCFS, who would then delegate follow up as they feel is appropriate. LAPD could have already made contact with the family and referred follow up back to DCFS, DCFS could have sent one of their case workers to make contact with the child(ren) at school, etc. LAPD stating they do not have an active investigation going on does not mean none of the allegations are true.

    This has gone from gossip Christmas to extremely sad.

    • Steph O says:

      Also! If the initial report filed did not include enough identifying details,DCFS may choose not to do anything with the report. Yes, they’re famous, but who knows what the reporting party was able to provide DCFS.

  33. Nancy says:

    Brad has been called a drunk, a druggie, a child abuser. They are coming at him full blast, gun to the head. I hope the truth comes out, a least partial truth. I reiterate his wife always complimented him openly and publically as a good man, a good father. That must have been one hell of an incident. I refuse to cut him off at the knees before there is concrete proof. The truth has to prevail. BTW I despise TMZ. They have destroyed many a life so we could have instant gratification. Time to retire Harvey

    • Lambda says:

      But just to make sure, is she still a scorned woman using the children as pawns?

      • Nancy says:

        Idk. I’ve read tidbits here and there, but nothing concrete. I was not on the plane. Seems like Brad went full metal jacket…..but I need facts. If you’re referring to an earlier comment…..well that’s when the story was he was having an affair with his costar. The stories seem to change by the minute. Get back to you if we ever learn the truth.

      • Tara says:

        That’s what I want to know Lambda. That bad mouthy scorned Angelina. Think of Those Children (TM).

      • Lambda says:

        Oh, I’ll spell it out, Nancy: one day you lap up a tabloid story because it feeds into your dislike of a celebrity, the other day you’re all about the truth and a cautious approach to ‘press’ reporting. Well, carry on.

  34. Steeze says:

    yeesh. nobody truly knows what happened but here’s my crack at it:

    preteen or teen acting up. high/drunk dad attempts to discipline and crosses line. mom freaks and since she likes to be in control also goes too far.

    and here we are.

    • MellyMel says:

      This is exactly what I think happened but we’ll have to wait & see. I do know what some ppl consider abuse is not what others think it is so I’m curious as to what really went down.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      OR, father drunk/high gets nasty with his wife, adolescent boy (who may have witnessed this before but felt too small to do anything) tries to intervene and protect her, drunk/high father pushes him and attacks him verbally. Far more likely.

      There really needs to stop being discussion of how women “like to be in control.” Who doesn’t like to be in control? We seem to only have a problem when women are clear about their actions. We don’t complain about men who “like to be in control.”

      • S says:

        Agreed, WATP. None of us know what happened, but I could easily imagine Maddox stepping in to intervene in a fight when Brad was intoxicated and it turning physical. Lots of possibilities, but the scenario where Angie is just being vindictive or lying seems implausible.

      • TexMex says:

        I agree the “likes to be in control and goes to far” bit makes it sound like she just over reacted. If it was me, all it would take is one incident and my husband would be out of the house SO FAST. I wouldn’t care if he was drunk/high you just don’t do that to a kid. You don’t mess with that. And they say time and time again, if somethings happening, you HAVE to report it so that way it is on record in case something worse happens in the future. “isolated incidents” can add up, especially if somebody is drunk/high and didn’t even realize in the moment that what they did was bad.
        I’m not saying Pitt is guilty, who knows. But i think it’s wrong to be-little a women/mother actions and accuse them of just wanting to be “in control”.

  35. Miss S says:

    THIS IS THE REST OF THE THR ARTICLE:

    “L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services could not confirm nor deny it was involved with an allegation involving Pitt.

    “We have very strict confidentially laws that don’t allow us to confirm or deny the subjects of our investigation,” spokeswoman Amara Saurez told THR. She added that the department’s media team did not confirm any investigation reports to any news outlets. ”

    CNCF didn’t confirm it also. So we don’t really know and it could be full gossip.

    • Val says:

      This is really important. I was quite surprised that they would release this type of information in the first place.

  36. Diane says:

    I had three young daughters 7,5,3, and my husband was an alcoholic. I was fairly tolerant and willing to work through it with him and while he was a mad drunk, it wasn’t as adverse to the kids as he wasnt home a lot. One night he was home and quite drunk. He was roughhousing in fun with the middle child when she cried out in fright “Mommy, help me daddy’s hurting me.” He started yelling at her and calling her names. I checked her and she was ok .. He was being rougher than he knew because he was drunk. That was the night I packed the kids and left. I was done. The things that gave me that motivation was that his impairment made him unable to appropriately tamper his actions physically, AND his reaction in verbally attacking her for crying out.
    The child was not physically injured but I saw that he was capable of crossing that line now and I wasn’t willing to wait and see if it would be worse another time.
    That was 20 years ago and to this day I know I did the right thing. I was able to restrict his unsupervised access and I know some thought I was too harsh, but I was there that night and heard the fear in my child’s voice. I didnt care if it was the first time it happened. What would the second look like if the first gets a pass?
    Just giving perspective.

    • Jess says:

      You definitely did the right thing. Getting physical with a child because you’re out of control from substance abuse doesn’t excuse the abuse and, in fact, makes it all the more necessary to get the kids out of harm’s way. Too often, kids with parents who have substance abuse issues face lots of risks, including but not limited to abuse, from their intoxicated parents (spoken as a daughter of an alcoholic mother). And what should Angelina do, wait until it happens 2 or 3 or 4 times before removing the kids from that situation? No way, she did the right thing and maybe this will be the wake-up call he needs to get treatment and take responsibility for his actions.

    • Bunnybear says:

      I just wanted to tell you how much I admire your strength in that situation. One of my friends is recently divorced. Her ex was a kind, loving father but he also had issues with alcohol. They were trying to work through it too but one day he drukenly stumbled and fell on top of their five year old son. He was so wasted he could stand back up and just kept rolling around on top of the terrified kid. She left him that day. They really did loved each other and wanted to make it work but sometimes things happen that just can’t be undone.

    • Keaton says:

      Thanks for sharing that story. And I definitely think you did the right thing by leaving. You’re a strong woman.

    • Lucky Charm says:

      Good for you, Diane. You definitely did the right thing, and your daughter’s are better off because they have a mom willing to stand up for them. Early in my marriage, my (now ex) husband and I got into a huge yelling match, and he shoved me against the wall. I told him that if he ever touched me again, or the children, then I would take the kids and leave right then. Even though he had never abused the children, his only warning was that first time he shoved me in anger and I let him know it. My kids safety was far more important to me than my marriage if I had to make a choice.

    • S says:

      It must have been so hard to do, but I agree, your first priority is keeping your kids safe.

  37. HeyThere! says:

    My heart is with the kids. All other celebs can quickly file for divorce and nobody, and I mean nobody will even notice after this mess!!!!

  38. Justjj says:

    Is it the wrong time to say he’s still really hot after all these years??? But I hope this works out for the kids sake and it’s already wearing me out. I am surprised it went full Depp too.

  39. Rebecca says:

    Who reported him to DCFS? Was it Angelina herself or some random stranger? Some outlets are reporting it like Angelina or someone close to her did the reporting.

  40. Mich says:

    Come on, Brad. If this happened, get help.

  41. MrsBPitt says:

    OK, now TMZ is reporting that this has been turned over to the FBI because the incident happened while the plane was in the air. It said the plane landed in Minnesota….

    • JESS82 says:

      the FBI?! seriously what in the f**k is happening??

      • Justjj says:

        SRSLY. Who knows what really happened. Sounds like a sad situation all around :/ speculating about it is pretty gross.

      • Mich says:

        Because it happened in the air.

        According to TMZ, he (allegedly) got wasted on a flight with the family from France to the US and became physically and verbally abusive towards at least one of the children. The plane landed in Minnesota and he continued acting out of control on the tarmac and even tried to drive off in one of the airport fuel trucks.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      The FBI makes it sound even more serious than it already might be, but it’s really more a matter of a jurisdictional issue because they were in the air.

      If it’s true, it’s a reminder that when it comes to things like child welfare, no matter what people think about their favourite movie stars or how much we comment from a distance, serious people take this seriously.

    • Embee says:

      OMG can you imagine how terrifying it must have been that someone decided they needed to land the freaking plane in Minnesota???

      If that is the case no wonder Angie filed so quickly. If she didn’t do so she would be seen as condoning his actions.

      And the whole thing about visitation but no custody is really quite explainable. She can set up “gates” for him to pass through as they negotiate the details of visitation, i.e. sobriety tests, well-checks during visitation, etc. to facilitate the children’s safe relationship with their father.

      Angie is in a very, very bad place right now. Make no mistake.

      • Lambda says:

        Yikers, you’re right, I don’t think Minnesota was the plane’s destination, it rather sounds like an emergency landing.
        To me, that detail about Pitt jumping on a fuel truck sounds so random to make the story probable. I’m of course disappointed. If even half of this is true, I hope there’s still room for Pitt to make amends to his children.

      • Dara says:

        Minnesota was likely a scheduled stop – to refuel and/or clear customs. Most private jets don’t have the range to go from the south of France to LA in one go.

    • Rebecca says:

      So if it happened while the plane was in the air, someone from the plane reported it. Either it was Angelina herself, the pilot, one of the support staff, or one of Angelina’s friends. Right?

  42. Bex says:

    Yeah, I’m tapping out now. I have no idea what happened and the speculation has got too horrible.

  43. CL says:

    I am stunned at how many people claim she’s lying because she has always said what a great dad he was. First of all, drunk people can turn on a dime, turning a normally mellow person into a raging tyrant. Secondly, why on earth would a celebrity ever say anything negative about their partner? Of course they are going to report that everything is great. Until it very obviously isn’t.

  44. Shea says:

    I hope he is not stupidly hoping for a reconciliation. She has declared war. He needs to hire a crisis specialist, PR team and the best lawyers he can get. What a fool he has been.

    • OhDear says:

      If the allegations are true, he needs to get help first.

    • Jeanette says:

      I think the man is a pot chimney, and I do not have a problem with that. However if the booze and coke rumors have any merit I hope he gets help.

      I’m not ready to break out the pitchforks yet, he was the model dad and husband for 12 years. We know also, that Jolie can make being the other woman look good in the media, so all might not be what it seems.

      I really hope this is a man that needs help, and is in a volatile relationship with an equally volatile woman and not a picture of abuse.

      • Trashaddict says:

        OK not necessarily a complete anti-drug person here, but you’ve got to realize it’s not so much the drug itself, but if you behave like an asshole on that drug, then it’s a bad drug – for you.

      • Jeanette says:

        Agreed! I can see why he is claiming he was drunk, and she is claiming he was not. Either way, and on whatever its not an acceptable excuse to be an asshole.

  45. Guesto says:

    Another one abandoning this mess. This is not gossip, let alone Gossip Christmas. Gossip Christmas is proper, full-on eyerolling at grown, consenting adults making total tits of themselves for our entertainment, TayTo being the most recent and joyful example of this. Where no one hurts anyone and no one is is hurt.

    Anyone that sees this fallout as entertainment needs to take a long hard look at themselves.

  46. Paige says:

    I can’t even bring myself to speculate anymore. A family is hurting right now. I hope everything works out for the kids. That’s all.

  47. Whatwhatnot says:

    He got physical with one of the kids…..

    Maybe Maddox or Pax were trying to calm him down and he struck or shoved them?

    I’m over here trying to make sense of the whole thing. I just….

  48. Keaton says:

    The speculation that AJ is using Laura Wasser to smear Brad the way Johnny Depp smeared Amber bothers me. It’s troubling that people found it *easier* to believe AJ would hurt her children and an innocent party (Marion) simply because her ego couldn’t stomach the idea of people thinking Brad cheated on her than to believe Brad lost control one night while under the influence of drugs and alcohol and went off on one of his kids.

    You know what I find easy? Picturing a stressed out middle aged man with a substance abuse issue in a confined space (an airplane) losing control one night on his independent minded pre-teen son. (I’m assuming of course that Maddox was the victim and he’s at the age where kids start challenging their parents more openly.) I’m not excusing Brad’s behavior. I’m not saying any child deserves his/her father’s abuse. I’m just saying it’s very believable to me. I will take this unpopular stand though: This does not necessarily make Brad an irredeemable monster in my eyes. If he gets help for his substance abuse and anger management issues and makes amends to his family I’ll have all the respect in the world for the guy.

    RE: AJ being so public about this. I suspect she had no other choice since someone called the authorities. Moreover, I think this may be her attempt to force Brad to get help. The thing is, he’s *BELOVED*. Even more beloved than Johnny Depp, So people will bend over backwards to not believe it. He’s also probably surrounded by people who won’t tell him the truth about his behavior. She’s putting him on blast IMO. This may be the only wake-up call that will work with him. And she’s giving him an out by mentioning substance abuse issues. ALOT of people, myself included would be willing to give him a second chance if he cleans up his act. AJ probably won’t but the public probably will. If what i wrote is accurate I hope Brad gets help. I also hope the kid that dealt with his wrath understands he/she wasn’t responsible for the dad’s outburst.

    • Whatwhatnot says:

      This is how I feel about the situation. I’m not one to get the pitchforks ready for Brad. As a parent to a teenager, I know all too well how situations can go from 0-100 based on a number of factors. Not absolving Brad of anything, but if he does have substance issues, he needs help and therapy. I said above I can see this happening between him and one of the older boys. Ish happens. I grew up in a somewhat dysfunctional family, but it was more due to undiagnosed mental illness. There were incidents of physical abuse, etc. We had to work hard together as a family and get therapy. We got through it and still love and respect each other more than ever.

      • Keaton says:

        @Whatwhatnot
        Sometimes I feel like people who post on messageboards have either had flawless parents who never did the wrong thing or the worst, most abusive parents possible. But I suspect many of us actually come from like you said “somewhat dysfunctional” but ultimately loving families. Most folks are not monsters or angels and that extends to their parenting too. I doubt AJ will take Brad back but i’m hopeful the Jolie-Pitt family can work out their issues as long as he gets help.

    • Brittney B. says:

      “I also hope the kid that dealt with his wrath understands he/she wasn’t responsible for the dad’s outburst.”

      The comment *just* below yours is justifying using physical force against a rebellious teenager. Like a single incident that harms or scares a loudmouthing kid is natural and normal and not criminal at all. Other parents are chiming in about how difficult it is to raise a teenager. So yeah, I really hope the child in question doesn’t read or internalize any of this coverage. People are ACTUALLY choosing to hold off judgment, you know, just in case it was the kid’s fault.

      (To be clear: it’s NEVER the kid’s fault when the adult chooses to get physical. Never.)

      • Zut alors! says:

        I can’t even believe some of the posters here. Yesterday, they jumped on Angelina and assigned all kinds of wronged, drug crazed, scorned woman insinuations on her divorce filing. Now that more info that their precious Brad did something seriously bad to precipitate all this, they’re bending over backwards to give him the benefit of the doubt along with paragraph long personal anecdotes. It’s like they’re determined to blame Angelina at all costs. So strange but not surprising.

      • Whatwhatnot says:

        @ Brittney B, Were you one of those people who got upset that a Ferguson mother struck her teenage son when she saw him acting up in the streets during the protests/looting and calling for CPS to intervene at the way she was parenting her son? I bring up that situation because while yes, some situations are definitely abusive, they’re not always coming from a place of ragey anger or malice, but people outside will still judge a parent. And teenagers can step to, and challenge the closest familial authority figure to them (parent/guardian) in a way they wouldn’t a friend or stranger. Even try to raise a hand. I try not to judge parents in this situation because I’ve been through it and my patience has been tested. Have friends currently going through it as well. Every situation is unique.

      • Keaton says:

        I agree with you @Britteny B. but I’ll just add:
        I find it very hard to express online that you understand what lead to someone’s bad behavior and you feel the perpetrator can be redeemed but at the same time you aren’t justifying or excusing said bad behavior.

      • Carmen says:

        @Whatwhatnot: that boy in Ferguson was bigger than his mother and I would have pinned a medal on her for what she did.

    • Embee says:

      I think your scenario is very plausible…probable, even.

      And really, I don’t feel that Angie should have to defend calling the authorities. There is a pervasive thought that we should keep family violence in the family, or try to sort it privately. This is exceedingly unfair to the people around the addict/violent person. I experienced this personally when my daughter was 6 weeks old. My ex had become angry/snappish/verbally assaulting over a weeks’ time…I wrote it off b/c new baby/no sleep. In the morning he kicked an ottoman on casters into my shins while I was holding the baby becuase he was mad a friend of mine (baby’s godmother) was coming over for a visit, and I had failed to remind him enough ahead of time for his liking (he was hungover). That evening he became drunk and angry at dinner and stormed off from a restaurant (first outing). I got a call later that evening from him and went to pick him up from a bar. On the ride home he punched out my windshield and landed several blows to the side of my head. I got home, got the baby out of the car and locked myself in a room. He broke down the door and attacked me. Fortunately he passed out before he could knock me out. He had also destroyed my phone in the attack. I literally Facebooked a friend to call the police

      Still I had people telling me I should have called friends/neighbors to handle him.

      It is very, very likely that this has been escalating and that she needed help.

      • S says:

        Embee, how horrible!

        Yeah, I don’t know why people can’t recognize that he could have substance abuse problems, anger problems, and have acted abusively towards his wife and/or child(ren), all of which necessitate separation from the family and lots of treatment and come to Jeebus moments, but doesn’t make him an unredeemable monster. People are complex and flawed. that doesn’t excuse their bad behavior but let’s not make things black and white.

        I hope he gets help. I hope he regrets what he has done, whatever it is, and finds whatever he needs to do so that it never happens again.

      • popup says:

        Embee, I am so sorry that you had to go through that. How incredibly terrifying and horrifying.

        I get why people would defend the abuser; they can’t imagine that the person they love could behave so terribly and that it mustn’t have been that bad.

        Which is why it’s so breathtaking how quickly Angie 1) removed herself and her kids from the situation and 2) got ahead of the story by leaking to TMZ the day after she filed, knowing full well that the DCFS angle would inevitably get leaked. She was prepared to act and had a game plan, almost as though she anticipated that something like this could happen one day. If the allegations of child abuse are true, she is one badass mama bear. Doesn’t necessarily mean Brad Pitt is evil but doesn’t mean he deserves to get joint physical custody, either. Surely she knew he would get eaten alive by this approach, and I want to believe that she didn’t want to do it this way but knew that she’d be in a much harder position to get full custody otherwise so went for the jugular to protect her family as she saw fit.

        As a global advocate for displaced and abused women and children around the world, she sure as hell is demonstrating a master class in how to control the narrative and fight for your family.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Embee, my heart goes out to you and your child! I am so sorry that you experienced that, and I am so happy that you are still here with us today to share your story. Big hugs to you.

      • Keaton says:

        Wow @Emblee Your story is heartbreaking but I admire your strength. I totally agree that this attitude of “keep it in the family” isn’t fair to the people who deal with the abusive person. Maybe I’m wrong but I HOPE that making it public has an impact on that individual. Perhaps they need to see the reaction of outsiders to their behavior in order to change.

        I’m not sure if you’ll see my comment since I’m responding late but I out of curiosity is your ex now able to co-parent? Has he gotten help for his issues?

    • Luca76 says:

      I agree with your scenario being a strong possibility and I don’t think he’s a monster at all, but it sounds like he’s at a point where things could get really bad if he doesn’t seek treatment. One could argue dealing with the FBI is bad enough but I’m talking about escalating abuse within the family . Clearly he needs help.

      • Keaton says:

        Exactly @Luca76. I hope he seeks treatment but that leak from TeamPitt makes me think he’s not there yet. He’s in denial and doesn’t see he needs help.

    • merlot says:

      I don’t think at all Angelina leaked it…but people are so against her in a preconceived way that any unconfirmed leaks makes her look like a harpy. It makes it look like she is smearing him but I don’t think she is – she is Hollywood royalty and she isnt thirsty. I have seen her interviews and she seems like a warm and intelligent woman.

      The sad thing is most people are Team Pitt. Celebitchy and Jez are the only websites sympathetic to her. The number of commenrs abour her not having breasts or looking like a skeleton has been appaling.

      • Keaton says:

        I’m disgusted that anyone would mock her for not having breasts and being thin. I’m completely horrified by it.

        Brad is teflon. He’ll end up OK as far as the public goes. Now his kids on the other hand? He’s in danger of ruining his relationship with them if he doesn’t get help. . But yeah the public seems to be giving him a pass. :/

  49. holly hobby says:

    Ok I got to speak up about this. DCFS has to look into this no matter what because someone contacted them. It doesn’t mean Brad did anything wrong. Since he’s cooperating this is a good sign.

    A very good friend of mine had a few rough years with her kid when she was a teenager. The girl would sneak out of the house in the middle of the night and drive into the city to do who knows what. She was also undone by a relationship breakup (she skipped school etc). Anyway, after one too many disappearances, my friend and her husband confronted the kid. Obviously during the heat of an argument, words are spoken. The husband got so mad that he pushed the kid away from him. She ended up landing against the wall.

    The daughter was so mad that she called the police and in turn DCFS became involved. The folks were interviewed by DCFS. After the first meeting, the investigator concluded that there was no pattern of abuse. She also told my friend that this was a common occurence. Teenagers have issues,words are spoken, maybe some pushing or shoving, they report their folks. Of course some a straight up legitimate abuse but not always.

    It is hard to raise a teenager. Especially those who never grew up with boundaries, which I suspect those kids didn’t have.

    I’m not branding Brad as the bad guy until I hear the whole story.

    • dandelion says:

      this was a public incident. the fact that the plane had to stop because of it, doesn’t look good

    • Whatwhatnot says:

      Yup! – Mother of an Emo, hormonal, sometimes even ragey teen daughter

    • Brittney B. says:

      Uhhhhhh… when a grown man pushes his CHILD (she was underage, yes?) so hard that she gets thrown into a wall, he absolutely deserves to be reported to DCFS. Their finding was probably accurate, but that is still an unacceptable response to ANY “words” that “are spoken”. He could have used his words, but he got physical, and that’s where he crossed the line. Even if it was only one time, he crossed the line.

      And the editorializing from that investigator is downright scary, too. She should have been advocating for the possible victim, not assuring a parent that kids “make up stuff like this all the time”. Even if she found no pattern of abuse, what if she had overlooked something? Can you imagine how saying that would further embolden an abuser and make the victim feel even more voiceless?

    • lily says:

      It’s not OK to push anyone.

  50. Anon says:

    The number one detail that is a gamechanger here for me is that the plane stopped in Minnesota. It really doesn’t seem like that was planned at the time of their departure, which means whatever happened on that plane was bad enough to land it.

    I think he was drunk, underestimating his behavior (verbal, physical, or both) and she and him were getting into it. I think he maybe was acting aggressive in one way or another and one of the children tried to help her and he shoved or verbally accosted them. I think that was IT for Angelina and she either requested the plane be landed or the pilot heard the commotion and made the decision to land the plane.

    Either way, I’m praying for those kids. I hope Brad gets the help that he needs to be a parent again, and I really hope that Angelina has an excellent support system around her.

  51. Amy Tennant says:

    DFCS, I’m pretty sure, always has to investigate. As others have said. It doesn’t mean he’s guilty. It doesn’t mean he’s innocent.

    It’s also very possible that Angelina had to make a quick and decisive separation move in order to keep the kids from being placed in foster care while the investigation is going on.

    I think for most of us this was never Gossip Christmas, with so many kids caught in the middle. It only keeps getting grimmer. I suppose we aren’t doing the Jolie-Pitts or ourselves any favors with all our wild speculation, although it’s hard not to speculate.

    I hope and pray for the best resolution for all of them.

    • Anon says:

      Agreed on all accounts. #teamkids #teamfamily

    • Goldie says:

      The plane may have stopped in Minnesota to refuel. Didn’t the report say that Brad tried to escape in one fuel trucks? Either way it certainly sounds like a disturbing incedent.

      • Tanya says:

        If it was scheduled, it’d be on a flight plan and we’d know about it before now. I’m assuming the tabloids would have gotten someone on the ground asap. The fact that it’s only coming out now makes me think it wasn’t a routine refueling.

  52. Nicole says:

    I honestly don’t understand why everyone is so fast to jump to conclusions either way. In CA, anytime any report of child abuse is given, factual or not, they are MANDATED to conduct an investigation. They are REQUIRED to look into it. An investigation doesn’t automatically mean someone is guilty of child abuse, it just means that a complaint was made stating so. It is during the investigation, that abuse is confirmed or not. Again people, an investigation DOES NOT MEAN any abuse happened. It also DOES NOT MEAN, that any didn’t happen. It’s literally just that, an investigation to determine if the allegations are founded or not. Also in CA, if allegations of abuse have occurred, the department that received the complaint, (for this I will say DCFS) MUST notify the DA’s office and law enforcement agency under jurisdiction, vice versa. This is standard procedure in CA, in that all are made aware of the allegations. Now that doesn’t mean that the DA or law enforcement agency is conducting an investigation, it is simply they are made aware of it, as each still are their own entity.

    Personally speaking, I will refrain from making any real judgement in regards to any of this, because false reports happen all the time. But what I don’t like is everyone hopping on whatever bandwagon they currently want to, without knowing facts. Most of the information being leaks is insidious in nature, and is causing lots of negative speculation in the public’s eye. For the sake of those kids, both sides need to STFU. All this ugliness benefits no one, and exes should learn to love their kids more than they hate their ex.

    • lily says:

      It is very understandable to not jump to conclusions. But the fact that she filed the next day makes me feel that she doesn’t feel comfortable with the outcome of the incident or the incident herself.

      • Nicole says:

        Having been privy to an abusive significant other, and also a highly manipulative ex-bestfriend that was female, I am very leery about pointing any fingers. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, Angelina has the potential of being vindictive and orchestrating a tale that could show Brad in a bad light because she didn’t get her way with something. But then it could be Brad is a raging alcoholic that is completely uncontrollable. It’s all speculative at this point. There aren’t facts to prove either way.

        Also, she didn’t file the next day. The alleged incident occurred on the 14th, she filed on the 19th or 20th (sorry not really following this, so I am unsure of the exact date, but I know it was not the next day). She only lists the date of separation as the following day.

      • notasugarhere says:

        She is in the entertainment business. Dropping this days before the Emmy’s would be a bad move. People in their industry would have held it against them, for taking all the press away from the unpopular awards show. Silly but true.

        And given her father’s inability to keep his mouth shut and the fact that he was up for an Emmy? He would have been yapping to any news outlet that shoved a microphone in his face on the red carpet.

      • Nicole says:

        Sorry, but I still find that Emmy’s excuse, just that, an excuse. She has always had a very dysfunctional relationship with her father. She is a mother, first and foremost. The fall out from her caring about the Emmy Awards, over the safety of her kids would have done more PR damage. Especially given that she is moving further and further away from Hollywood, and more into politics. So what would she really care what those Hollywood peers said? If someone came out and threw a fit about her shadowing the Emmy Awards, over something that dealt with the safety of her kids, that would be a PR nightmare for them,

        If her kids were privy to something terrible, then worrying about the Emmy Awards would not have been her first priority. It wasn’t as if Brad or her were up for a nomination of any sort, even if this is the excuse. I personally find it suspect that the bombshell hit as soon as the fervor of Emmy Awards died down before this hit the news. That’s not saying Brad could or couldn’t have done something gross, that’s just saying I can find the timing weird.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Again, given her father’s behavior, not dropping it before the Emmy’s let’s her keep a little of the spotlight off of him. He’s already talked to at least 3 gossip outlets. Imagine how bad it would have been if he’d been lording it up on the red carpet? Or it could be her mouthy father and the Emmys were the least of her concerns.

        What she likely did was get the kids away from him that night. How is that not putting the kids first? She gets them away to a secluded location away from the paps, and then drops the news a few days later when they are hidden.

  53. shayla says:

    Just one other thought…as a mother with 4 teenage boys…did you ever consider the 15 year old and his father were having a “discussion “. This turned into a loud argument and eventually the 15 year lightly pushed or put his hands on his father because dad came a little too close into the 15 year olds personal space while intoxicated? A 15 year boy, with all the hormones flushing thru him would not take kindly to drunk dad coming within his personal boundaries like that. While under the influence, the dad reacted badly pushed the kid back, called him a few names . The plane landed in an emergency because this type of behaviour was a 1st for said dad and still being under the influence and totally pissed off he decided to use his alcohol bad judgement again, and “get out of there’ by driving a fuel truck?

    Not all calls to the Children’s Aid are due to abuse people. Sometimes its just people “concerned” and making anonymous phone calls.
    Perhaps we don’t start the man hate just yet and see how this plays out.

    He has the right to a divorce attorney. Sorry if she isn’t your cup of tea, but she isn’t your attorney now is she?

    Not all calls to the Children’s Aid are justified either.

    Not every man is a bad man.

    Not every woman is a good woman.
    Perspective.

    • Nicole says:

      Thank you. I feel like so many on here really just jumping to conclusions so fast.

    • lunchcoma says:

      Your version of the story in your first paragraph sounds totally plausible. I’m only puzzled by your conclusion that the behavior you described is okay. In the situation you describe, I wouldn’t advocate for the hypothetical dad to go to jail, but I also wouldn’t be comfortable with him having custody of (rather than visitation with) his children until he’d gotten a handle on his drinking issues. Being so drunk that your alcohol bad judgment leads you to try to drive off an airport runway in a fuel truck seems like something that dad needs to get a handle on.

    • Colette says:

      I consider that behavior abusive.I don’t think a person should face criminal charges but definitely counseling/therapy.
      Also I question the parenting of anyone who is intoxicated around their young kids.You are not out at a party with friends so why are drinking to the point of intoxication in front of your kids? To me that’s comparable to getting high in front of your kids.Why?
      I’m talking in general ,IDK if Brad was drunk but if he was ….SMH

  54. Jeanette says:

    IF that flight landed in Minnesota, who in the WORLD would think to call LA DCFS?

    • lunchcoma says:

      Someone who’s concerned about the well-being of the children rather than any potential criminal charges? If the children live in Los Angeles (honestly, I’m not sure if I could say where those kids live), that’s the department that’s in charge of investigating whether their parents are fit to care for them. That’s a separate matter from whether anything happened that will lead to criminal charges.

      If you’re suggesting that the call came from Angelina or someone on the family’s staff, then yeah, I thought that was everyone’s assumption all along.

    • Colette says:

      They travel with teachers,if I was their teacher and witnessed him getting physical while drunk I would probably call depending on how angry and out of control he was.

      • Jwoolman says:

        Aren’t teachers mandated reporters? If a tutor witnessed something, he or she may have been required to report it. Don’t know the details of when it becomes abuse. Even drunk or drugged, Pitt probably is still stronger than even his oldest, although Maddox is about 15 and well on his way to manhood. Pax looked pretty big in a recent picture also. The reports seem to indicate just one child, though. So the kids didn’t gang up on him. Hey, those kids planned a wedding… They are probably rather effective in a group!

  55. Colette says:

    I am going offline for a few hours, my hope is the next headline I read is,”Brad Pitt checks in rehab”.Since his attorney haven’t denied an incident happened on the plane,I am inclined to believe it happened.Bye for now.

  56. Sparkly says:

    It’s amazing how everyone (especially news outlets) is choosing sides and speculating on a confidential case. Or vilifying Jolie as instigating a smear campaign. She doesn’t owe us explanations, and to me, it sounded like she was keeping as private as possible in her filing when she knew — especially with TMZ’s court contacts — that it was going to go full-blown anyway.

    I grew up a child of abuse. It’s a subject very near and dear to my heart. I still won’t jump to conclusions about either one of them. I’m intrigued enough to follow the story, and I hope he’s not gone full-Depp (or even partial-Depp). I’ve heard such good stories about their kids and their parenting that I find that hard to believe, but people change and alcohol does bad things. Especially if mixed with pills, even legal. If abuse allegations are true, I’ll proceed accordingly (no more of my monetary or social media support). I just can’t countenance adding to the flames when –nobody knows yet– and a family is being torn apart.

    • Kitten says:

      I agree. I don’t see anything wrong with people extending sympathy to Brad if he is battling addiction demons but to characterize Angie as vindictive or to question her handling of something as serious as this seems really wrong to me.

      • Sparkly says:

        Oh, agreed. Sympathy should always be encouraged these days! Whether abuse actually happened or he just got too f-up around his kids, it sounds like he needs help. I hope he gets it, and I seriously hope that this is a wake-up call rather than the culmination of long-quieted pattern of abuse.

  57. JRenee says:

    This is getting worse by the hour. How sad..

  58. Northern_Girl20 says:

    This is getting really sad. Unfortunately, I’ve seen this happen. Person drinks to the point where they have no control and just snaps and can’t stop. Doesn’t matter what you say they just go on and on. Starts with insults, then yelling, then physical abuse that escalates. But when they are sober, they’re the most amazing person.
    I’m sad for the kids and Angie

  59. Nymeria says:

    My theory: Both Angie and Brad are lackadaisical parents, and whatever happened in “the incident” is par for the course. However, Angie pounced on it to use as divorce fodder, making something completely common in their household out to be something shocking and out-of-the-blue. I think she’s trying to destroy Brad in the eyes of public opinion. Her real rage is with Brad having cheated on her. The divorce has nothing to do with how he does or doesn’t treat the children. Very interesting to watch how this one spins out. Will Brad come out with something equally damning against Angie? Or would that make him look petty?

    • Jeanette says:

      I feel like a version of this is true. I think she was fed up with him to begin with because he was on something, lets face it, he has probably always been on something for a while. When he approached the kid to reprimand him for doing something-she lost it. Then he is trying to hop the fuel truck to get the hell out of dodge and the fight was on. Why do I think this? Because of 12 years listening to her talk about how wonderful he is as a father, she contradicts herself.

      • notasugarhere says:

        As said on many other threads:
        1) Did you expect her to say on the red carpet that he’s a lousy father?

        2) People can be good parents until they let alcohol and drugs turn them in to something else. He may have been a good parent for years, but in the last year or two his vices may have started to hurt the family. The incident being the last straw and she was done.

      • Nicole says:

        There are multiple plausible theories:

        1) Brad cheated and Angelina found out, and an ensuing fight occurred during the flight. If what was said in the past is accurate, then Angelina herself has admitted that fights between them are epic. Brad may be the type that needs to leave in order to defuse the situation, so he requests the flight attendant to have the captain land because he doesn’t want to continue to argue. However, even after landing, Angelina is still wanting to fight about the cheating, so Brad attempts to leave again. Cheating for Angelina, could be a deal breaker for her, so much so, that she would immediately ask for a divorce and then began to immediately become strategic and hit him where he hurts the most, his good guy reputation. What better way then to not outright call him abusive, but to make a veiled statement alluding to it, and then having someone on her payroll call to submit the anonymous complaint, thus starting the PR warfare against him.

        2) Brad drank and popped some pills during flight, and could be his usual over the last year or so. Angelina made another comment about his addiction, and how he needs to stop. A fight begins, with Brad screaming in her face. So much so that their oldest kids try and come in between Angelina and Brad to protect her from his ranting and raving. In doing so, Brad shove the kids away trying to still yell at Angelina. One of the flight attendants alerts the Captain of what is transpiring. One of them alerts authorities to what is going on. Brad finds this out authorities are notified, and tries to leave. For Angelina, him shoving his kids and arguing in front of the kids, and his substance abuse is a deal breaker. So she does what she needs to do to protect them from Brad.

        Each theory is plausible. Each equally gross.

  60. Sorrybuttruthseemstocandies says:

    They got interviewed but It must not be too much deal if police is not involved right?

  61. Div says:

    Interesting. Lainey is stating that he can’t come out with a “plan” because there may be receipts….receipts that neither he nor Angelina have control of at this time. That seems to indicate to me that perhaps someone videotaped Brad and neither one of them want the video out and are waiting to see if it will be sold to TMZ or if they can bury it. I can see one or both of them trying to bury it because they wouldn’t want such an incident, in which the kids were involved, made public.

    This whole thing is a hot mess and the fact that Brad hasn’t come out with a strongly worded denial just adds more weight to the fact that something bad and abusive happened.

    • Luca76 says:

      Yes my instinct is that TMZ has something they’re about to release. It’s very possible CPS also has the same video. I also believe that in effect Angie’s hands were tied about at least separating from him in order to 1.keep custody of her kids and 2. Protecting her humanitarian work.

    • Div says:

      I think that’s exactly what happened and that Brad and Angelina are trying to keep the video undercover.

      My guess is somebody who works for them videotaped the incident and has been leaking stuff to the press. I know everyone wants to blame Laura Wasser because of how awful and slanderous she was to Amber, but the “weed” thing would be a bizarre thing to leak since that doesn’t even have any real legal consequences in California unless he was driving while stoned, etc. It does sound like something an employee would leak though……

      That said, this whole thing has been handled very oddly PR wise by both sides. I completely get Angelina going after him if he hit a kid but I’m surprised that both didn’t do a “joint statement.”

      • Leah says:

        @Div
        Apparently she offered to co file for divorce. It was him that refused, thereby forcing her to file alone. He wanted to work on the marriage. It certainly puts those people to shame who said she just wants to destroy him.

    • bonzo says:

      I think Lainey’s take on it is probably right. Anyone on the tarmac with a phone camera would be wanting to video an incident they had a visual on, knowing it would be worth a buttload of cash from TMZ. The fact that Brad has let these allegations fester and gain momentum for the past 24 hours tells me there must be some damning evidence out there that can’t be contradicted.

      I can’t call this Gossip Christmas with 6 kids involved in this acrimonious split. Regardless of the “issues” either of the parents have that may have contributed to the split, it’s still sad to see a family broken up.

    • Tanya says:

      It could also mean that the investigation is out of her hands. The kids will be interviewed, and what they say could be damning.

  62. JESS82 says:

    page six seems to be telling brad’s unofficial version of the story. yelling but no hitting, she’s doing this to get the kids. could be laying out his strategy?

    • Leah says:

      Page six is not believable. A few days ago they said it was because of Marion. Now its clear that there was an incident involving Brad and one of the kids.The sun also claims to have an exclusive in which they say he denies the abuse but admits to the alcohol and weed. And the headline screams that he says she is crazy, i don’t know if its legit from him but if so he is not exactly protecting his family either.
      Also the story is that she doesn’t want permanent custody, its a temporary thing, i am guessing until hes gets help. She wants him to be involved with the kids. And People said she offered to co file for divorce, he refused, so this idea that he was completely blindsided is apparently not true.

      • JESS82 says:

        now people is reporting a similar version from unofficial sources on brad’s side. drunken fight with angelina got too heated, older kid stepped in the middle, doesn’t constitute child abuse, etc. wonder if/when he will make an official statement.

    • Colette says:

      If she was going to lie about an incident why not lie about it happening in their house rather on a plane over Minnesota ?

  63. Sorrybuttruthseemstocandies says:

    Angie seems to want full custody even before this story if they come to broke up that is.
    But I hope they solve this quickly and privately with understanding eachother

  64. Malak says:

    I was shocked at the news, and haven’t read all the articles about this. IF it’s true that Brad misbehaved because he ‘wasn’t himself’ surely things can go back to normal when he has had help.

  65. BackstageBitchy says:

    I spent some time today wondering why the plane touched down in Minnesota
    some thoughts- either the incident was bad enough that the plane made an emergency landing en route to LA, which would bode very badly for Brad as the interstate authorities frown upon that sort of thing, or, perhaps their destination was in Minnesota? You know what’s in Minnesota? The Betty Ford/ Hazledon Clinic, one of the nation’s most well-reputed, and TOUGH, rehabs.
    Perhaps Angelina and one or several of the older kids were taking him there, perhaps he’d agreed to go, then got drunk and belligerent and refused and it got ugly? I know it’s pure speculation, but I’ve been a part of some interventions, and people do crazy shit when confronted with rehab, such as trying to escape in a fuel truck…

    • Esmom says:

      Interesting theory. I wonder, though, if it’s true why Brad has not disclosed going to rehab now, after everything hit the fan. If that wouldn’t prompt him then what would? So if he doesn’t make that type of announcement soon I’d venture to guess he’s standing his ground, because he really wasn’t abusive but the kids got caught in the middle of an ugly parental spat.

      In any case, no scenario seems like it will end well for them, yikes. So sad.

    • Snowflake says:

      Some are saying it was so the plane could refuel.

      • Jeanette says:

        MSP is a hub, if they were flying commercial, it was probably just a connection. I am not familiar with private air, but I think sometimes its difficult to arrange when it is international.

      • LittleTeaPot says:

        I also read that it was to refuel.

    • Dara says:

      It’s a nice theory, and it certainly sounds like Brad could use some serious rehab, but the airport where the jet landed is nowhere near Hazelden. Refueling seems most likely – a local news report says the airport is used as a stop between Europe and the US
      http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4121092-reports-jolie-pitt-breakup-sparked-part-international-falls-incident and another says that Pitt has been seen there before http://www.fox9.com/news/207134483-story

    • TotallyBiased says:

      Refueling stop that could also have made the incident hard to conceal, if they had even wanted to do so. International Falls is waaay north, relatively close to the Canadian border, and Hazelden is decidedly south of the Twin Cities–so no connection there. If it had just been an emergency stop, the pilot would have gone for Duluth.

  66. Kid Kodette says:

    Whatever happened on 09/14, it looks like there was an emergency to proceed quickly to protect the kids. Nevermind the time, day of week or PR usual game.

    As others said, maybe Angelina had no choice because there was witnesses, etc.
    I hope they kids are ok.
    That Brad will acknowledge his problem (if true) and address it.
    I hope they can work it out because I am sure they love each other and stay together as couple/family.

  67. suzysunshine says:

    My divorce became final in 2009. Two kids involved. By the time my ex-husband was done with me, I was an alcoholic, pot smoking nutcase with anger management problems. Thankfully none of it stuck and I was awarded primary custody of the kids. Just saying–when there are children and money and hurt feelings involved–people may not be acting in the best interest of anyone. Anger causes a lot of damage. I’m just going to wait until the court issues a child custody ruling–they don’t mess around and they aren’t easily swayed by allegations.

    • Crumpet says:

      The fact that they have apparently made it a habit to fight in front of the kids is shocking to me. For some reason I thought they were a much more functional set of parents than that. Even when my ex was drunk I never said a harsh word, nor he to me, out of concern for our daughter.

      • sasha says:

        Where are you reading that it’s a fact that they have apparently made it a habit to fight in front of their kids?
        Do you mean, according to source close to the couple stated that for a paycheck?
        Or, do you mean a website stated that a close source stated that and the close source doesn’t even exist?
        Yeah, that.
        Please.

  68. JenniferJustice says:

    I don’t agree with the common theory here that it started with him getting physical or arguing with Angelina. If that were the case, the police department would be investigating him for abusing Angelina, not just DCFS investigating child abuse. The facts so far point to him abusing one of the kids – bottom line. I can’t speculate who, how, or why. But nothing alludes to an initial altercation with his wife.

  69. Paisley says:

    What strikes me is Brad has not publicly named his lawyer, and he has not officially made a statement. After reading the latest People article of his version, unofficially, I still have questions, there seems to be holes in his version, also.

    Also, could it be the plane landed in Minnesota to refuel?

    • Colette says:

      I said it before his denial is very weak.He could release a statement denying this ,I don’t mean,” a close source to Brad said…”,but a statement from him,his manager,publicist,etc

    • G says:

      It’s possible they stopped in MN to refuel, though I find that a little random? Maybe the plane/airline they were on was related to Delta, idk.

  70. Luca76 says:

    Between The Post and People Brads end is some classic alcoholic deep in denial BS.

  71. GoLightly says:

    I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop, but as of now, he has yet to be straight on accused of actually hitting or abusing any of his children. And yet so many people have been dragging him like it’s a confirmed fact that he violently beats his kids. I’m not defending him and I do think that there’s something fishy going on, but I’m not going to jump on the “Brad is a bad dad” bandwagon right now either.

    Laura Wasser’s MO is to muddy the waters with carefully worded innuendo, so until I see video, an actual police report, or another official statement from a law enforcement agency, I’m not going to make ironclad judgments solely based on web gossip and the easily-influenced “reporting” of TMZ and People.