Brad Pitt has revealed he is no longer sober, telling Esquire in a wide-ranging interview published this week that he has resumed drinking after seven years of sobriety — but says he's doing it "in a more restrained manner" this time, according to the magazine and corroborated by The Hollywood Reporter and TMZ.

"I was sober for seven years," Pitt said. "And then I got back off the wagon." The actor said he now allows himself a few glasses of wine but has set firm limits after learning the hard way that moderation doesn't come naturally. "I can't have a lot," he said, adding that he has to be "professional about it." He described getting "overconfident a couple times" before recommitting to smaller quantities.

A Long, Public Road

Pitt has been unusually open about his struggles with alcohol since his 2016 split from Angelina Jolie, when he has said he hit a personal low and turned to Alcoholics Anonymous to "reboot." He has previously credited actor and longtime friend Bradley Cooper, himself sober for over a decade, with helping guide him through early recovery.

NOT IN BIG QUANTITIES

The new interview also touched on heavier territory, including the death of Pitt's mother in August 2025 and past struggles with suicidal thoughts, which he addressed in a separate conversation covered by ABC News. Pitt has said that period, following the collapse of his marriage to Jolie and years of litigation over custody of their six children, brought him closer to rock bottom than he'd been willing to admit publicly before now, a disclosure that stunned fans more accustomed to his easygoing, movie-star persona than to that level of vulnerability.

Fan and Industry Reaction

Reaction among fans has been split between concern and support for Pitt's candor, with many on social media praising him for discussing relapse and moderation openly rather than presenting sobriety as a permanent, unbroken line. Addiction specialists note that Pitt's framing — treating moderation as an ongoing, monitored choice rather than a failure — reflects a broader shift in how public figures discuss recovery. Pitt has no major film releases scheduled for the remainder of 2026, but is said to be attached to at least one project currently in early development.