‘Angelina Jolie’s claims haven’t significantly damaged Brad Pitt’s reputation’: Is Amber Heard Responsible For Making Fans More Aware of Domestic Abuse Cases Not Being as Black and White?
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie separated in 2016 but their divorce is yet to be settled. And Jolie has come forward with serious physical abuse allegations against her ex-husband that might change the course of their legal dispute if proven right. However, it is a very long shot since the incident took place years ago and things are slowly turning into a game of he-said-she-said.
What is bothersome for both the Oscar-winning actor and Paramount Pictures is the potential dent in the actor’s reputation in the aftermath of these allegations. Pitt’s upcoming Paramount project Babylon is slated to release in December this year, but with the controversies the actor finds himself embroiled in, Paramount is reportedly worried that it might hurt the film’s performance at the box office.
Angelina Jolie made serious abuse allegations against Brad Pitt
Amidst a legal dispute between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt regarding a French winery that the former couple used to co-own, Château Miraval, the former filed another countersuit on October 4 alleging in detail that Pitt abused their children and her on their private plane. The FBI investigation regarding the accusation did not end up with any pressed charges, and the Fight Club actor’s rep also claimed that the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider actress “continues to rehash, revise and reimagine” what went down back in the day.
Meanwhile, the abuse allegations against the Bullet Train actor have been dubbed as an immediate “PR nightmare,” by an executive in light of his upcoming release. And another executive from a studio that happens to be Paramount’s rival claimed, “You think Paramount is thrilled? No. It could make press [for Pitt] hard, but the town will rally around Brad.”
However, according to several reports, both Paramount and Pitt might not have too much to be worried about.
An official survey suggests Brad Pitt’s reputation is still unmaligned
THR and Morning Consult conducted a survey on October 15 and 16 among 2,211 adults curated as a US nationally representative sample. And the results suggested that despite the Maleficent actress’ heinous allegations, Pitt’s reputation continues to remain almost unhurt.
The entrants of the survey were asked whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Se7en actor, to which 70% replied with either “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable.” And when the same question was ventured after informing the people about his abuse allegations, the percentage dropped meagerly to 65%, which is not that big of a dip.
When it came to interest in watching a movie starring Pitt, men were ahead of women. Where 49% of women agreed to be “somewhat” or “very” interested in watching a Pitt film, the percentage in men was 56. On being divided based on age brackets: 18-to-34, 35-to-44, and 45-to-64, the most positive response came from the 35-to-44 bracket, out of whom 66% said they were “somewhat” or “very” interested in watching a Pitt-starrer project. Meanwhile, in the 18-to-34 group, the positive response was 54%, and 50% in the 45-to-64 group.
Has Amber Heard made abuse accounts hard to trust?
The question does arise that how come allegations of serious abuse against family and spouse have started being taken this lightly? According to several experts and even the masses in general, a lot of it can be owed to Amber Heard‘s alleged crocodile tears. Even back when the Depp v Heard trial was in full swing and the verdict was passed in Johnny Depp‘s favor, Heard and her fans had called it a setback for women who would henceforth come forward with accounts of their abuse. And that this will go a long way in scaring and silencing women who have been victims for fear of being further vilified.
It is apparent that after the Aquaman star’s allegations almost ruined the Pirates of the Caribbean actor’s life and career, people have become wary about believing victim accounts blindly. And that is the reason Brad Pitt gets to walk with his head held high and high hopes of success with his upcoming December release.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
