Brad Pitt Child Abuse Allegations—What We Know, What We Don't

Brad Pitt's relationship with his children has become a talking point, following reports that one of his sons attacked him in a social media rant years after the actor had been investigated—and cleared—over child abuse allegations.

Pitt and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie announced their separation in September 2016, two years after their August 2014 wedding. Jolie filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences." The divorce saw the screen stars locked in a custody battle over their six children.

The Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-stars are the parents of Maddox, 22; Pax, 19; Zahara, 18; Shiloh, 17, and 15-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. Maddox was adopted from Cambodia, Pax was adopted from Vietnam, and Zahara was adopted from Ethiopia. The three remaining children are biological.

According to the Daily Mail, Pax shared a post on his private Instagram account in which he slammed Pitt on Father's Day in 2020. A screenshot of the post in question shows Pax calling Pitt an "awful human being." Newsweek has contacted representatives of Pitt and Jolie via email for comment.

A caption alongside a photo of Pitt accepting his Oscar at the 2020 Academy Awards read: "Happy Father's Day to this world class a******!! You time and time and again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person.

"You have no consideration or empathy toward your 4 youngest children who tremble in fear when in your presence. You will never understand the damage you have done to my family because you are incapable of doing so."

The post continued: "You have made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell. You may tell yourself and the world whatever you want, but the truth will come to light someday. So, Happy Father's Day, you f****** awful human being!!!"

Citing an unnamed source, the Daily Mail reported that the Instagram Story post was unusual for Pax, who would have been 16 at the time.

FBI Investigative Documents

The alleged post has revived attention on Jolie's allegation that Pitt was violent toward her and their children aboard a private jet flight in 2016. Details of the allegations were laid out in copies of FBI investigative documents obtained by Newsweek in August 2022.

While it had long been speculated that a confrontation on a plane from France to Los Angeles led to the demise of Pitt and Jolie's marriage, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by a "Jane Doe" earlier in 2022 sought the release of the FBI documents detailing the string of allegations from the flight in question.

It was reported by Puck News that Jolie was the "Jane Doe" who had filed the lawsuit against the Justice Department, seeking a more thorough probe of government records related to the investigation.

Details of Jolie's interview with FBI officials include allegations that Pitt yelled at her on the long-haul flight on September 14, 2016, "grabbed her by her head," shook her, and "pushed her into the bathroom wall."

Jolie also alleged to the FBI that Pitt looked "like he was going to attack" one of the couple's children after they called him a "p****," prompting her to place her then-husband "in a choke hold" from behind in a bid to restrain him.

In her statement, Jolie alleged that Pitt was intoxicated and argumentative, allegedly leaving their children, all of whom were minors at the time, frightened. Jolie alleged that their children were reluctant to use the restroom for fear of drawing attention from Pitt, who she said had consumed multiple alcoholic beverages.

Pitt was also accused by Jolie of pouring beer on her "and the blanket she was under," when she was lying on a bed. In all, Jolie alleged that Pitt caused $25,000 worth of damage to the plane by spilling red wine around the aircraft.

Through parts of the flight, Jolie told FBI officials that she was "frozen, scared and didn't know what to do" in reaction to Pitt, who she accused of yelling at her: "You broke up your family."

Stating that she "felt like a hostage" on the flight, she said in the documents that she told her children to gather their bags together quickly once the plane landed and wait by the door, explaining that she wanted to take the children to a hotel to sleep for 12 hours as they had not rested adequately.

"You're not taking my f****** kids," she claimed Pitt told her as they attempted to deplane, allegedly leading to another heated confrontation. Jolie estimated that Pitt kept them from disembarking for more than 20 minutes.

Jolie stated that she had sustained injuries to her back and elbow as well as a "rug-burn type wound" on her hand as a result of the alleged altercations, while Pitt had a "scratch" that she told FBI agents "could have been from her."

The erstwhile power couple's split was publicly announced days after the flight, with Jolie filing for divorce on September 20, 2015. Their date of separation was listed as September 15, 2016, one day after the flight, per People.

Allegations Investigated

As well as facing an FBI probe, Pitt was investigated by the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services over the abuse allegations.

Following pages of allegations in the documents obtained last year, it was revealed that Pitt had subsequently been cleared of any wrongdoing.

A statement in the FBI documents read: "This author provided both [Assistant United States Attorneys] copies of a probable cause statement related to this incident. After reviewing the document, representative of the United States Attorney's Office discussed the merits of this investigation with the case agent.

"It was agreed by all parties that criminal charges in this case would not be pursued due to several factors."

The FBI also said in a statement at the time that no charges were filed on the matter.

"In response to allegations made following a flight within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States which landed in Los Angeles carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the F.B.I. has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation. No charges have been filed in this matter," read the statement.

A source close to Pitt previously told Newsweek that all parties "had this information for [several] years and [it] was used in previous legal proceedings. There is nothing new here and [it] serves no purpose other than being a media stunt meant to inflict pain."

Neither Pitt nor Jolie have publicly commented on the allegations. However, in an interview with Vogue back in 2020, Jolie addressed the breakdown of her marriage.

"I separated for the well-being of my family. It was the right decision," she said. "I continue to focus on their healing. Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds."

"In fact, they are six very brave, very strong young people," she said.

Pitt has spoken about quitting alcohol and marijuana, telling GQ in 2017: "For me, every misstep has been a step toward epiphany, understanding, some kind of joy. Yeah, the avoidance of pain is a real mistake. It's the real missing out on life."