Brad Pitt Cleared Of Child Abuse Allegations

Brad Pitt has been completely cleared of child abuse allegations from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

TMZ reported that the DCFS closed its investigation into Pitt's alleged in-flight scuffle with his 15-year-old son, Maddox, from September 2016. The incident was allegedly one of Angelina Jolie's catalysts to file for divorce from Pitt, 52. However, after exhaustive interrogations of Jolie, Pitt, Maddox, and their five other children (Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8), as well as witnesses on the flight, no signs of abuse were confirmed, according to TMZ. The site also noted that DCFS found Jolie's claims that Pitt has a pattern of misconduct to be false, giving him an advantage in their custody battle. A source close to the couple told Page Six, "They investigated everything and found nothing."

Still, a rep for Jolie, 41, told TMZ, "Angelina said from the beginning that she felt she had to take action for the health of the family and is relieved that after their 8-week involvement, the DCFS is now satisfied the safeguards are put in place that will allow the children to heal." Sources claimed Jolie "feels the kids would be at risk if Brad gets joint custody, and if he doesn't drop his claim she'll present evidence to the divorce judge that Brad has committed abuse."

The FBI is still conducting an investigation into the flight incident, Us Weekly reports, a process that could take months. As Nicki Swift previously reported, the FBI reportedly interrogated Jolie about the allegations in October 2016.

Perhaps celebrating the good news, Pitt worked the red carpet with co-star Marion Cotillard on Nov. 9, 2016, at an Allied (2016) fan event, where witnesses claim he seemed to be in good spirits.