Brad Pitt: Why Is He Still Popular?
Why is it that every single heartthrob from the nineties turns out to be a massive disappointment?
It seems that in recent years there has been no shortage of disappointments when it comes to popular ’90s stars. From abuse allegations to chronically dating women less than half their age, these previous VIPs represent everything we’ve moved past and won’t tolerate anymore—or so we say. Despite the countless movements and campaigns to bring abusers to the light of their responsibilities, it seems that Hollywood is exempt from these new policies. No one gets more chances than a good-looking male celebrity.
The latest celebrity to fall from grace is none other than Brad Pitt. Known not only for his many acting credits, Pitt was part of one of the most popular celebrity couples of the past decade, Brangelina. Angelina Jolie (formerly married to Pitt) is a talented actress, compassionate humanitarian, and victim of domestic violence. After their split in 2016, the actress filed a lawsuit against Pitt that detailed the abuse he put her and their children through. Since then, there has been an ongoing legal battle between the two celebrities. Strangely enough, it hasn’t gotten much attention from the public. Especially when it comes to Pitt’s actions.
Despite these allegations, Brad was arguably the “star of the show” last month at the Golden Globes. In a very blatant attempt at redeeming his image, every single person who went up to present or receive an award just had to pay a compliment to the celebrity. The industry seems to be happy to sweep the allegations under the rug; after all, Brad Pitt is a huge name. Everyone is just happy to ignore his allegations because he’s mildly attractive and a relatively good actor.
This seems to be a repeating story: a celebrity gets called out for something or other and then a couple of months later, collective amnesia hits and we’re back to adoring them. If people who are constantly under the public eye are not held responsible for their actions, what does that say of our societal values and the so-called progress we’ve made?
It might seem silly to compare this situation to regular society since we tend to deem Hollywood and the people in it as separate from real life, oftentimes seeing their lives as a form of entertainment or fiction. But the ways in which people react to the actions of these celebrities does reflect the overall sentiments that society has about sensitive situations—in this case, domestic abuse. Accountability seems to be the word of the past few years, being brought up for all kinds of situations; well, let’s bring it to one more. Holding someone so well-known accountable is necessary. It lets the world know that everyone else should be too…regardless of status.
