THE AMAZING FACE

On Wednesday, GQ Style published an “explosive” Brad Pitt cover story – his first interview since splitting from wife Angelina Jolie last year – in which he talks about everything from his highprofile divorce to his alcoholism.

The spinoff headlines were swift and vast, ranging from “Brad Pitt: Drinking killed my marriage” to “Damn! Brad Pitt slept on a friend’s floor post Angelina Jolie split.” You could call these clickbait, but that wouldn’t be accurate, because what GQ and Pitt’s PR team have collaborated on is meant to result in eye-grabbing headlines. It’s meant to be shared a million times online. It’s meant to have gone viral. You don’t need to look any further than the ridiculous images that accompany the story; or the flowery descriptions of Pitt doing mundane things; or the absurd answers he provides.

So, what, then, is the point of this excruciatingly candid GQ profile? A public flagellation and/ or cleansing? It doesn’t matter because either way, simply by engaging, the public allows him back into celebrity culture.

But we already knew all this. So why do we play along? Why do we eagerly click those headlines and keep tweeting about it – even if it’s to say we’re far above engaging with it? It is often suggested that we derive schadenfreude from the misfortune of celebrities because our lives are so overwhelmingly miserable that the downfall of those previously on a pedestal brings some comfort to our wretched existence.

That’s nonsense. We engage with celebrity culture because it’s just another form of entertainment crafted for us, and this GQ story, like every other paparazzi shot, is an extension of reality television. It’s low stakes distraction with a faux authenticity, packaged to perfection, that plays directly into what we want and expect.

We know that the picture of Brad Pitt painted in this feature story has about as much in common with the real Brad Pitt as his role in Fight Club, but it’s fun to imagine that the real Brad Pitt is sleeping on floors and building fires. It’s yet another scripted piece about a person through whom we’ve lived vicariously for years. The most popular role that Brad Pitt has ever played just might be Brad Pitt, GQ feature subject.