‘I needed to wake the f*** up': Pitt opens up on AA meetings
Hollywood star Brad Pitt has opened up about his experience with Alcoholics Anonymous following his tumultuous split from ex-wife Angelina Jolie.
The 61-year-old Oscar winner showed his vulnerable side as he spoke about attending AA meetings for 18 months during an interview on Armchair Expert, a podcast hosted by fellow actor Dax Shepherd.
Pitt revealed that attending AA meetings was 'an amazing thing' for him to help navigate his sobriety journey after Jolie filed for divorce in 2016.
'It was when I was first getting sober,' Pitt explained to Shepherd. 'I just thought it was just incredible. Men sharing their experiences, their foibles, their missteps, their wants, their aches, and a lot of humour with it.'
'I thought it was a really special experience.'
Shepherd asked the movie star if he was nervous to chat on the podcast with him after they had met at an AA meeting, but Pitt told the podcast host that he was 'quite at ease' with the decision.
The Fight Club star, who shares Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, and 16-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox with Jolie, admitted that despite initially struggling to open up during group sessions, he 'really grew to love it'. Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016 after they were married for two years. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP
'I was pretty much on my knees, and I was really open,' Pitt said.
'I was trying anything and everyone. Anything anyone threw at me. It was a difficult time. I needed rebooting. I needed to wake the f*** up in some areas. And it just meant a lot to me.'
After a few AA meetings, Pitt said it was something he began to look forward to, adding that he feels he is 'pretty good at taking responsibility' for and 'owning up to' mistakes he's made.
'And now it's a quest to, you know, 'What do I do with this? How can I right this and make sure it doesn't happen again?' Pitt said.
The actor, who stars in the upcoming F1 film, first revealed to The New York Times that he attended AA meetings after his high-profile divorce from Jolie.
In that interview, Pitt shared how committed he was to his sobriety.
'I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges,' he said at the time.
He added how 'freeing' it was to open up in his recovery group, which was all men.
'It was this safe space where there was little judgement, and therefore little judgement of yourself.'
The episode aired shortly after Pitt attended the European Premiere of F1: The Movie in London. LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 23: Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise attend the European Premiere of F1 AE The Movie at Cineworld, Leicester Square on June 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo byfor Warner Bros. Pictures) Credit: Gareth Cattermole /f
The highly-anticipated film will be released on 26 June.
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