Brad Pitt is currently under investigation for child abuse following an alleged incident where he got “verbally abusive” and “physical” with one of his children aboard his and Angelina Jolie’s private plane.
Both the Los Angeles Police Department and L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services began investigating Brad Pitt after someone sent them an anonymous tip last Wednesday from the tarmac. It was reported that he was drinking at the time of the alleged incident.
A source close to Brad Pitt explained to PEOPLE that the Hollywood Dad is not taking the investigation lightly in the slightest.
“He takes the matter very seriously and says he did not commit any abuse of his children,” the source says. “It’s unfortunate that people involved are continuing to present him in the worst possible light.”
The incident comes a mere day after Angelina Jolie listed the date of separation after she filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, and requested sole custody of their six children: Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8. The documents Jolie filed in court on Monday cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for ending their two-year marriage.
Brad Pitt issued a statement to PEOPLE: “I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids,” he said in the statement. “I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time.”
The famous Hollywood duo originally met in 2003 on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith and began publicly dating a few years after, finally marrying in 2014.
While it is unclear what the investigation will turn up, Jolie cited that the divorce was “for the health of the family”. The blow-up took place in front of Jolie and Pitt’s other children on their private plane.
