Brad Pitt Opens Up About Joining Alcoholics Anonymous After Angelina Jolie Split: “I Needed a Fresh Start”

The Oscar winner appeared on the most recent episode of Dax Shepard’s podcast ‘Armchair Expert’

Brad Pitt attends the world premiere of "F1" at Times Square in New York
Brad Pitt attends ‘F1’ premiere in New York on June 16.Credit : ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty

Brad Pitt is opening up about his experience with Alcoholics Anonymous.

The 61-year-old Oscar winner opened up about the experience on the Monday, June 23 episode of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. The two actors also spoke about getting to know one another in an AA meeting.

Pitt called AA an “amazing thing,” noting, “I just thought it was just incredible men sharing their experiences, their foibles, their missteps, their wants, their aches, and a lot of humor with it. I thought it was a really special experience.”
Brad Pitt attends fans, on the F1 movie Red Carpet at Parque Toreo
Brad Pitt on the ‘F1’ red carpet in Mexico City on June 9.Medios y Media/Getty

Shepard, 50, who has been very open about his struggles with substance abuse and sobriety, wondered if Pitt was “nervous” to speak with him publicly after they met in AA, noting the “really heightened honesty and vulnerability” of the situation.

But Pitt assured him that he was, “Quite at ease.”

Pitt also shared that while he was a bit “shy” coming into the AA group, he also didn’t hesitate to open up because of how low he was at that time.

“I was pretty much on my knees, and I was really open,” he told Shepard. “I was trying anything and everyone. Anything anyone threw at me. It was a difficult time. I needed rebooting. I needed to wake the f— up in some areas. And it just meant a lot to me.”
Brad Pitt is seen at the world premiere of "F1"
Brad Pitt attends ‘F1’ premiere in New York City on June 16.XNY/Star Max/GC Images

As well as referring to himself as a “stubborn f—,” Pitt also noted some of his more positive qualities.

“When I’ve stepped in s—, I’m pretty good at taking responsibility for it and owning up to it. And now it’s a quest to, you know, ‘What do I do with this? How can I right this?’ And make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Pitt said that after a few sessions, AA meetings became “something I’d look forward to.”

The F1 star added that he approached therapy with a similar openness, saying, “When I jumped into therapy then, I was just like, ‘And I did this and I did that and da da da da,’ “ calling his approach “desperate.”
Dax Shepard posts about Brad Pitt on Instagram
< claspanss=”figure-article-caption-text”>Dax Shepard kisses a photo of Brad Pitt on Instagram.Dax Shepard/Instagram
“Yeah. You don’t come into AA because everything’s working out fantastic,” Shepard agreed.

“No. That’s usually not the entry point,” Pitt quipped in response.

“It’s not the winner’s club,” Shepard added. “Your hair has gotta be on fire before you go like, ‘Yeah, I’ll go hang with a bunch of dudes and talk about emotions.’ “

Pitt first opened up about his time in AA in a 2019 profile for the New York Times. He shared that he entered the program in 2016 after his ex, Angelina Jolie, first filed for divorce.

“It was actually really freeing to just expose the ugly sides of yourself,” he told the outlet of entering the program at the time. “There’s a great value in that.”