Brad Pitt‘s admission that he’s consuming alcohol again after seven years sober and attending Alcoholics Anonymous for 18 months has set off some strong reactions within the recovery community.
The 62-year-old star revealed to Esquire that he’s “off the wagon,” but says he’s only drinking “in a more restrained manner,” claiming, “I can have a few [glasses of wine]. But I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it.”
The comments drew some skepticism online, including in recovery-minded forums like Reddit’s r/stopdrinking. “‘I can handle a few’ — same thing every alcoholic in the history of the world says when they relapse,” wrote one user. “If I could moderate I wouldn’t need to think about moderating,” noted another. “If you have a healthy relationship with alcohol, it is something you just do – no need to make rules and be disciplined.” Another wrote, “‘I have to be professional about it’ — oh honey, I’m four years sober and there’s no being ‘professional’ about addiction.”
But recovery experts who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter had a more nuanced take on the subject, essentially noting that not everybody who turns their life around needs to follow AA’s abstinence-based model.
