LOS ANGELES (AP) — The FBI says it’s gathering information about an incident involving Brad Pitt and his family aboard a private flight last week.
Spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement late Thursday that the agency is still evaluating whether to open its own investigation into allegations Pitt was abusive during the flight toward one of his six children with actress Angelina Jolie Pitt.
Several media outlets, using anonymous sources, have reported that the actor is under investigation by a child welfare agency because of the incident. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Families refused to say whether it was investigating Pitt.
People.com had more information. They allege that the fight on the plane took place and involved Jolie, Pitt and one of the couple’s three sons.
Pitt “was drunk, and there was an argument between him and Angelina,” says the source. “There was a parent-child argument which was not handled in the right way and escalated more than it should have.”
The source says Pitt did not hurt his son. “He is emphatic that it did not reach the level of physical abuse, that no one was physically harmed. He did not hit his child in the face in any way. He did not do that; he is emphatic about that. He put his hands on him, yes, because the confrontation was spiraling out of control.”
A source close to Pitt says any accusations beyond that are “a combination of exaggerations and lies”. “They have taken the overall smallest kernel of truth – that a fight got out of hand and reached a regrettable peak, and that as a result DCFS is looking into it – and they are manipulating it to best suit their attempts to gain custody.”
Jolie Pitt filed for divorce Monday, saying she came to the decision “for the health of the family.” Her sole comment about the situation came via her official Twitter account.
