Entertainment

Brad Pitt May Not Be Under Investigation After All

by Nicole Pomarico

After troubling reports surfaced Thursday morning, the LAPD is now denying that Brad Pitt is under investigation for child abuse, according to multiple sources. The original reports, which were made by People and TMZ, reported that Pitt was under investigation for allegedly being verbally abusive toward and allegedly "getting physical" with his children on a private plane last week and that an anonymous source led to police and the L.A. Department of Child and Family Services getting involved in the case. TMZ also claimed that the alleged incident could have been what led to his divorce from Angelina Jolie. But now, it seems those reports are false, according to several statements from police.

Bustle has reached out to Pitt's rep and the LAPD regarding the claims, but has not yet received a response.

Update: People is reporting that while the LAPD is not investigating abuse allegations against Pitt, a source claimed to the publication that the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services is looking into the alleged incident. Bustle has reached out to the L.A. DCFS, but has not yet received a response.

Update 2: The L.A. DCFS Public Information Officer told Us Weekly: "We’re prohibited by law from disclosing case specific information or even identifying any involvement with any client."

Update 3: The FBI released the following statement to Bustle: “In response to your inquiry regarding allegations within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; specifically, an aircraft carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI is continuing to gather facts and will evaluate whether an investigation at the federal level will be pursued.”

Earlier: "We only found out through calls this morning, we contacted divisions that would be handling it and they’ve said no," a spokesperson for the LAPD told The Independent. The site adds that a source says that the actor denies the allegations, as well.

Police also denied the allegations to Us Weekly via statement from the department's Public Information Officer:

"LAPD is not handling any report or allegations into child abuse for Mr. Brad Pitt ... We don’t have anything on Brad Pitt right now. We have confirmed with the detectives, and according to our detectives there are no active investigations regarding Brad Pitt."
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Additionally, Sgt. Barry Montgomery released the following statement to The Hollywood Reporter:

"We have no criminal investigation that we are actively pursuing. To my knowledge, [Pitt talking to police] never happened. And right now, that is where our office is. We are not investigating any case, nor do we have any allegations against Mr. Pitt. We understand how rumors get spun up and hopefully we can put a few of them to rest. We have no investigation involving Mr. Pitt."

And while Pitt has yet to speak out about these reports himself, "a source close to the actor" told The Independent:

"He takes the matter very seriously and says he did not commit any abuse of his children. It’s unfortunate that people involved are continuing to present him in the worst possible light. I think the most important thing is the fact that he is co-operating and that he takes it seriously, he recognizes it is a serious matter and he is willing to do whatever will be best for his family.”