Why is Brad Pitt criticized after the Oscars?

Brad Pitt wasn’t nominated for an Oscar this year, but his pink champagne was the center of attention. On the menu alone, La Fleur de Miraval would anger some netizens. For good reasons, the 59-year-old actor is accused by his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, of physical and moral violence against her and their children. American Magazine, The New York Times on Oct. 4 revealed details of the charges, which were dropped by the FBI in 2016 in an amicable settlement. We then learned that the divorce would be initiated by a private jet trip on September 14, 2016. In the process, the legal report defines: head and shook her,” “he poured beer and red wine over Jolie and the children.”

But if some Internet users are outraged and condemn the impunity of which the actor is the subject, the majority of the public remains loyal to Brad Pitt. Hollywood, too, to the point of honoring its rosé wine during the great mass of American cinema. And ironically, she also has her name in the credits of seven 2022 films, two of which she co-produced that deal with gender-based and sexual violence (Talking women And He said, ) Is all this really serious? Or should we question Brad Pitt’s iconic status?

Scandals, Brangelina. once the last of the “power couples”.

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The old star

He needs no introduction. he is one of the highest paid actors in the industry, someone who easily switches between blockbusters and more artistic films, he is also the only actor to be twice chosen by the magazine “Sexiest Man Alive”. People. Finally, the David Fincher darling stands out for her beliefs, being a supporter of gay marriage, a donor to numerous NGOs, and a vegetarian.

Brad Pitt symbolizes the archetype of seductive, athletic and dedicated masculinity

Jamil Dakhlia

For Jamil Dakhlia, a media sociologist and specialist in celebrity culture, Brad Pitt is not only the Hollywood embodiment of the ideal son-in-law, but also one of the last actors who so faithfully fits the concept of “star”. What this notion entails is the blurring between private and public persona, the construction of a “persona” that would be the same on screen and in life. While Hollywood emphasized, beginning in the 1970s, the ability of actors to transform themselves for each role, the actor. fight club, he remains one of the few who turn to similar registries. Always “beautiful”, with physical roles, she gains a coherent identity and with it the illusion of intimacy. “Stars are symbols of the state of society,” explains the academician, “Brad Pitt thus symbolizes the archetype of seductive, sporty and devoted masculinity.” So imagining a “cut,” a “blemish that might cloud his personal image,” would be too hard to imagine for a public who trusts him.

Disturbing impunity

However, over the months, this image breaks down. In a post-Metoo context where listening to victims seems to have been achieved, the way Hollywood’s darling avoided accusations of abuse has sparked outrage on social media.

“Brad Pitt is an aggressor, but this proves that they don’t care”

And when an actor goes to a Golden Globe for his role BabylonJanuary 11, 2023 Austin Butler announces “Brad, I love you” during his speech, actress Regina Hall introduces herself as “Madame Pete” and writer and comedian Quinta Branson pauses mid-sentence just to greet the star, the hashtag. “Brad Pitt is an abuser” is trending on social networks. Internet users blame the system protecting the attackers. “Angelina Jolie is Hollywood royalty, she’s more accomplished and famous than her ex-husband, but the industry continues to knowingly protect the abuser. Not surprising, but it just goes to show that no woman is immune,” the user wrote.

And a month later, at Caesar’s ceremony, rebel. While the Academy announced it would not invite anyone involved in acts of violence as a result of the Benasser case, the actor made a surprise appearance on stage at the Olympia to a standing ovation. The hashtag is on the rise again, this time with French-speaking tweets.

Many have condemned the unfair treatment of Will Smith, who had to “crawl for forgiveness” after the Oscar slapping incident, while Brad Pitt has been hovering over abuse allegations for months.

“Brad Pitt appears to have little reaction to the objectively disturbing allegations of domestic violence against his family, but Will Smith was literally only allowed to apologize more than six months after he slapped someone for insulting his wife…»

An air of déjà vu

Another parallel appears: the case of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Although the trial of the latter two differs in its legal and media coverage, the “untouchable” side of the two men accused of domestic violence can be compared. Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt have more in common than their PR manager. Jamil Dakhlia sees the form of sisters between them. the same generation, the uniformity of their roles and, above all, the huge and identical “popular capital”. According to him, this capital would allow for a more tender popular justice, tempered by the illusion of closeness.

This trust given to two industry favorites would have made even accusations of violence unheard of. Conversely, the women making these accusations would be discredited. For some, the media attention given to these allegations even becomes an opportunity to discredit women’s voices.

However, for many, the insecurity of Angelina Jolie and Amber Heard is more insidious. For Jamil Dakhlia, Angelina Jolie and Amber Heard have as much in common as their ex-husband. Both are less well-known than their partner, who is said to be bisexual and coldly beautiful, suffering from a “persona” perceived as “marginalor even “evil”. Because if the sociologist Jean-François Amadier evokes beauty (understanding the physical characteristics according to the standards given by society) as a value, Appearance weight: beauty, love and glory. For these two women, it would be a “disadvantage”. Seducers, manipulators, in the collective imagination, imbued with homophobic bias, they cannot be victims. “It’s a cliché of a mother or a whore, and in this case they are rather characterized by the whore, the outlaw side, which in the eyes of common morality would be enough to disqualify them,” concludes Jamil Dakhlia.

Angelina Jolie seems more spare at the moment than Amber Heard, who rebuilt her life under an assumed name after her trial (she now presents herself as sniper Martha Jane Canary, aka Calamity Jane, a free woman of tragic fate). But Brad Pitt’s unwavering popularity suggests that, regardless of the trial’s outcome, the allegations will continue to creep up on him.

In the video, The Factory of Lies. The Johnny Depp/Amber Heard Affairthe teaser