The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation is officially looking into allegations Brad Pitt physically and verbally abused his children while on a private flight.
In a statement made to Variety, the FBI said it is “continuing to gather facts and will evaluate whether an investigation at the federal level will be pursued.”
Let’s be really clear here: that really does mean they’re just assessing the facts at hand, before deciding if they should launch a full-scale probe into the alleged incident.
The allegations were first made public by a source of TMZ, who said Pitt yelled at and was “physical” with his children during a flight from France back to the US.
The incident reportedly took place on September 14, days before partner Angelina Jolie filed for divorce. Jolie claimed “irreconcilable differences”, and has filed for full physical custody and joint legal custody of their six children.
Due to the fact the alleged incident took place in an aircraft, the FBI is involved due to “the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States.”
Earlier, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed it wasn’t investigating any reports of alleged abuse. “LAPD is not handling any reports or allegations into child abuse for Mr. Pitt,” said spokeswoman Officer Jenny Houser.
The LA Times also reports the Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services has opened an investigation into the incident, but the DCFS didn’t offer any more information.
