Brad Pitt Slams Clint Eastwood’s Masculinity, ‘Real Men’ Fire Back
Brad Pitt opened up, sharing his thoughts about masculinity during an interview. This came on the heels of the two-time Oscar winner strolling the red carpet in Germany wearing a “linen skirt.” According to TODAY, when the veteran actor was asked about his “fashion-forward” choice, Pitt responded by saying, “We’re all going to die, so let’s mess it up.”
In an interview with the Financial Times, Pitt, who was born in Oklahoma and raised in Missouri, claimed Clint Eastwood-type masculinity was overwhelming and outdated. “It’s just exhausting to be anything but who you are,” Pitt said. “You have to understand, at least where I grew up, we’re more the Clint Eastwood character: you hold everything within, you’re capable, you can deal with anything, you don’t show weakness. I see that in my dad and the older generations of actors, and, man, it’s exhausting.”
After making those remarks, Pitt was immediately attacked on social media by fans who claimed this was all a PR stunt to rehabilitate his image after his ex-wife Angelia Jolie’s countersuit that alleged the Hollywood star was physically abusive to her and two of their children during a private jet flight six years ago.
Not only was the hashtag #BradPittIsAnAbuser trending on Twitter, but he also got blasted by “real men” who were offended by his Clint Eastwood remark. “Brad Pitt. From Tyler Durden in 1999, one of the most badass characters ever. To wearing a skirt on the red carpet in 2022. This encapsulates the degeneration of western society, real men need to rise now more than ever before,” posted one male Twitter user. “Don’t get infected by this feminist disease.”
“There are those who ran into the Twin Towers on 9/11 when others were running away,” Josh L. wrote about Pitt’s statement on masculinity. “Men who fought in Europe and the Pacific…these are men who complain little if any and gave so much. I’m really sick of these metrosexuals who think so highly of themselves for redefining what men and women are.”
“If a man wants to wear a skirt then he is not a valuable man to society,” posted another man. “We need strong, competent masculine men to uphold society, not feminine b*tch boys who can’t do anything.” Some men were deeply offended by Pitt’s remarks. “Being a perennial child is so much easier than having to grow up,” one male commenter posted. “Being handed money through the Hollyweird network to be an influence peddler rather than have to actually ‘work’ to take care of family and friends as ‘men’ do is exhausting at times. But that’s who ‘real men’ like Clint Eastwood really are.”
Another male commenter named “Stu” was also outraged. “So, it’s exhausting? Being a man?” he asked. “Doing what men have had to do throughout the ages? Yes. It is exhausting. Dangerous. Sometimes unappreciated. But it’s what real men do. Men who believe in truth. Honor. Dignity. Looking cute for the camera isn’t about being a man. It’s the exact opposite. Pansy.”
In 2019, Brad Pitt claimed his film, Ad Astra, was about “exploring the theme of toxic masculinity and its detrimental effects,” he said in an interview. “In retrospect, what James [Gray] and I were digging at was that definition of masculinity,” Pitt said. “We’ve both grown up in an era where we were asked to be strong…and there is a value in that, but [also a] barrier because you’re hiding some of those things you feel ashamed of. We all hide and carry individual pain and wounds.”
Pitt has also voiced his thoughts on politics in the past. After Donald Trump won the 2016 election, he spoke out. “Man, I never thought that would happen,” Pitt said of Brexit in an interview. “Same way I can’t bring myself to think that Trump will be in charge. In the simplest terms, what brings us together is good, and what separates us is bad.”
The Troy star explained he has a hard time comprehending the politics of those from middle America. “Coming from Oklahoma, southern Missouri, which leans more toward a Trump voice, I try to understand it,” Pitt added about Trump’s victory. “It seems that the people who suffer the most end up betting for the party that would hurt them. And so I try to understand where they’re coming from.”