Brad Pitt Says He Resumed Drinking After 7 Years Sober in Esquire US Interview

Brad Pitt broke his silence on sobriety in an Esquire US interview published August 10, conducted at his Los Angeles home. Seven years after quitting alcohol following a 2016 in-flight altercation, he says he has started drinking again.

He was direct about his limits. "It is restrained drinking," he said. "I became arrogant a few times and thought 'this is not good for me.'" A few glasses of wine is manageable for him now. Heavy drinking is not.

The interview also surfaced darker territory. Pitt described a period of severe psychological pain in which he felt "the touch of a bullet lodged in my head" — a sensation he said gave him relief, though he clarified he had no immediate intention to act on the impulse.

His path back after 2016 unfolded in stages. He enrolled in a 12-step recovery program and attended his first AA meeting feeling desperate. "I was almost on my knees and needed to get my act together. It was a really difficult time." Watching other members approach the program with an open mind gave him inspiration.

Pitt and Angelina Jolie became legally divorced in 2019 after roughly three years of proceedings. Divorce formalities were fully concluded last year.