Brad Pitt was (finally) on a winning streak in 2020. The once seemingly lost boy of Hollywood following his dramatic split with Angelina Jolie found himself again.
He gradually regained his popularity in everything to his honesty about alcoholism to, most recently, his humor about his life (including ex-wives) in picking up one award after another in 2020 for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Add in photographs and videos seen around the world of Brad reuniting with his first former wife, Jennifer Aniston, and Pitt seemed to be unstoppable in his popularity.
Then came the 2020 Oscars where Brad won an award…and lost fans in his acceptance speech.
Brad Pitt: A look back at his best speeches this awards season before Oscars 2020
Pitt has charmed fans, as well as Jennifer Aniston, before the Oscars 2020.
Brad had succeeded even in communicating his humor when he wasn’t present, pointed out Newsweek. Among the highlights of the 56-year-old actor’s awards season before the Oscars:
- In winning the BAFTAs, for which he could not be present, Pitt asked his pal and co-star Margot Robbie to say the following: “Hey, Britain. Heard you just became single. Welcome to the club. Wishing you the best with the divorce settlement,” said Brad in a reference both to his custody battle over his six kids with Jolie and Britain’s Megxit struggles after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s exit.
- Another co-star in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio, came in for his share of fun in Pitt’s Golden Globes acceptance speech, with Brad promising he “would have shared the raft.”
- Brad also mocked himself, joking in his SAG Awards acceptance speech about his image. “Let’s be honest, it was a difficult part — a guy who gets high, takes his shirt off, and doesn’t get on with his wife. It was a big stretch,” Pitt joked.
And then came the Oscars, where fans hoping for more self-deprecating humor from Brad got an apparently unwanted reminder of politics instead.
Brad Pitt: What went wrong in Oscars 2020 Awards speech?
Although some in the Hollywood audience chuckled over Pitt’s reference to President Trump’s impeachment trial, social media slammed the actor for using his acceptance speech to slam the Senate for not allowing the Democrats to subpoena John Bolton, noted Page Six.
“They said I have 45 seconds,” said Brad during his acceptance speech. “Which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week.”
The winner of the Best Supporting Actor award for Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood,” Pitt then suggested that director Quentin [Tarantino] “does a movie about it. And in the end, the adults do the right thing.”
The director laughed, as did some others in the audience. However, Conservatives on social media blasted Brad, with the New York Post getting positive feedback for the headline noting the reactions.
Good! #BradPitt deserves every minute of being ripped to shreds! Enough of the trash talk from Liberal Hollywood Elite using every platform NOT as intended! They take advantage of and manipulate easily influenced Americans. #disgusting #Oscars2020
— Lisa Fritsch Ennis (@MinoltaSRT201) February 10, 2020
One Twitter user wrote that he “was a fan” of Brad. Pitt lost him, however, in his acceptance speech, posted @ken21246463.
“Brad we don’t need another Hollywood insider giving us his Democrat opinion. Take your trophy and go home,” added the Twitter user.
And others agreed.
Brad “absolutely turned off viewers first award,” tweeted @pattyleder. “I don’t remember anyone asking or caring what Brad Pitt thinks about the impeachment farse [stet].”