How Brad Pitt overcame allegations of adultery, child abuse, and corrected his image

In the seven months since his abrupt separation from wife Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt has kept a low profile. It all changed this week when his first interview post the split appeared in GQ.

Pitt had been accused of beating his 15-year-old son Maddox on a plane in September, which prompted Jolie to file for divorce. The FBI and Child Services investigated him for child abuse. He was romantically linked to his Allied co-star Marion Cotillard, which she immediately denied.

The GQ spread, apart from the interview, includes a massive 8-day photoshoot of Pitt, 53, “tumbling through” three national parks, and a music video.

But according to the BBC, it was all a planned move by Pitt to correct his faltering image. In the interview, the actor admitted to having an alcohol problem, and how it might have caused the problems in his life. He said he is undergoing therapy and is on a road to recovery after coming to terms with the “self-inflicted” situation he’s in.

But instead of being called out for his behaviour, which, by his own admission is the reason his family was jarringly “ripped apart” the Internet has sided with him.

An article titled “Why Brad Pitt won the Jolie-Pitt war by throwing himself on his sword” published on E! said, “Throwing caution to the wind - and simultaneously capitalizing on 30 years of goodwill built up in Hollywood - Brad went for it, translating what he’s gleaned from his newfound love of therapy into a painfully self-aware, self-deprecating, oft-poetic and at times rambling discourse on a charmed life that veered off course and what he’s doing to right the ship.”

Vanity Fair said, “Pitt clearly studied the lay-it-all-bare, heart-on-my-sleeve, owning-my-flaws interview section of the post-celebrity-divorce playbook. Learning from his tumultuous year is a theme of the talk, especially regarding the divorce, which is still under way. He comes across candid, remorseful, and keen to let the world know that he’s doing a lot of work on himself.”

And Huffington Post completes the trifecta of acceptance: “People like (Brad) do so much to give a face to the addiction crisis that claims so many lives. Thank you for your honesty, your courage, and your willingness to open up about your recovery.”

The BBC quotes PR guru Mark Borkowski as saying that Pitt would have “Total copy approval, total picture approval, total headline approval,” on the interview.

“But of course the timing is calculated,” Borkowski continues. “The language is calculated. Everything is calculated. And everything is a gamble.”

“A lot of people prefer to stay before the waterline and not do it. He’s taken a massive risk and I can think of many who just wouldn’t go this far.”