Brad Pitt recently joked on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast that he “missed that window” for a gay experience, adding playfully that Shepard wouldn’t even be in his top 10 if he did.
Pitt also reflected on the homophobic messaging he heard growing up in 1980s Missouri, like “Don’t cry, don’t be gay, you fag.”
Despite these past influences, Pitt has been a strong, long-time advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, particularly marriage equality.
From 2006 to 2014, he famously delayed marrying Angelina Jolie until all same-sex couples could legally do so. He even donated $100,000 to fight California’s Proposition 8 in 2008 and later matched contributions to the Human Rights Campaign in 2012 to support marriage equality initiatives across four states.
Pitt consistently frames his support as a matter of fundamental freedom, asking, “What if someone said, ‘Sorry, no Christianity here?’ No one would stand for that.”
He has also spoken about seeing his gay friends raise children in loving environments, stating he wants his own kids to “live the lives they want to live” and “be who they really are.”
