Brad Pitt hit with child abuse claim
Reports say FBI investigating actor
LOS ANGELES — Authorities are investigating Brad Pitt after an allegation of child abuse, a celebrity website reports.
Pitt’s wife, Angelina Jolie, 41, filed for divorce Monday, citing irreconcilable differences. Jolie’s lawyer said she had chosen to end her marriage with Pitt, 52, for the “health of the family.” They have six children together.
Now, celebrity website TMZ.com alleges Jolie’s divorce filing comes after a flight last week, during which Pitt is said to have been intoxicated. TMZ’s sources say they are believed to have been on a plane with their children and Pitt allegedly went “wild, screaming and getting physical with the kids.”
TMZ said after the plane landed, witnesses claim “Pitt continued his rant on the tarmac, and even tried leaving in one of the fuel trucks.”
Since the incident allegedly occurred in an aircraft, law enforcement sources tell TMZ the investigation has been referred over the FBI.
The alleged incident on the plane is said to have been the last straw for Jolie, who separated from Pitt the next day and filed for divorce four days later. On the divorce papers, she lists Sept. 15 as the official date of separation.
After news of the divorce went public, Pitt told People magazine his focus is on the “well-being” of their children.
“I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the wellbeing of our kids,” he told People. “I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time.”
Meanwhile, Marion Cotillard announced her pregnancy and shot down rumours of any romantic involvement with Pitt.
“This is going to be my first and only reaction to the whirlwind news that broke 24 hours ago and that I was swept up into,” the Oscar-winning actress wrote in a statement posted Wednesday on Instagram.
The star of such films as Inception and Rust and Bone said she is “not used to commenting on things like this nor taking them seriously, but as this situation is spiralling and affecting people I love, I have to speak up.”
Cotillard affirmed her longtime relationship with actor Guillaume Canet. The couple are parents to a five-year-old son. She said in her Instagram post alongside a photo of bird soaring through the sky that Canet is “the only one that I need” and they are expecting another child.
Cotillard, who won an Academy Award in 2008 for her performance as the legendary French singer Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, stars with Pitt in the upcoming Second World War romantic thriller Allied.
Several reports this week had suggested a relationship between Cotillard and Pitt was the reason Jolie filed for divorce.
“This crafted conversation isn’t distressing,” Cotillard wrote. “And to all the media and the haters who are quick to pass judgment, I sincerely wish you a swift recovery.”
Cotillard says she hopes Jolie and Pitt “will find peace in this very tumultuous moment.”
A spokeswoman for Cotillard didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment about the post. Postmedia News