Friends Don’t Fear Brad Pitt Will “Relapse” After Hanging Out With Sean Penn, Despite Report

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Friends do not fear Brad Pitt will “relapse” with alcohol simply because he recently hung out with Sean Penn, despite an absurd and wholly made-up report. Gossip Cop can exclusively correct this fabricated claim. We’re told it’s “untrue.”

Right from the start, it’s clear the National Enquirer doesn’t have its facts straight. The magazine begins its new article by alleging there are concerns for the “newly-sober divorced dad” because he recently spent time with his “hard-living Hollywood pal” Penn. Pitt, however, is not yet “divorced.” He and Jolie are still privately working out a settlement, but that’s the least of the story’s problems.

The supermarket tabloid notes that Pitt was “spotted at Sean’s celeb-studded book release party where alcohol flowed freely.” The publication then quotes what it calls an “insider” as saying, “Everyone knows Sean has a reputation for being a party animal, so it’s crazy to see 
Brad hanging out with him.” “Half the battle is surrounding yourself with clean and sober people and not opening yourself up to falling off the wagon,” adds the supposed source, who actually offers no insight into Pitt’s predicament.

The outlet then pints out, “Brad swore off booze” following his separation from Jolie, “but friends worry Sean’s hard-drinking history could drag him down.” “Brad’s looking healthier and happier than ever… It would be such a shame to see him slip up,” adds the tabloid’s tipster. Naturally, the magazine doesn’t offer the name of one single Pitt pal who’s concerned about the actor falling off the wagon simply because he attended a book party.

Curiously, at the end of its completely unsubstantiated story, the tabloid backs off its claim of Penn being a “party animal” to contradictorily state that “Sean has been able to keep his boozing under control.” The same seemingly fake “insider” notes that while Pitt has remained sober for the past year, “If he keeps partying with bad boys like Sean, there’s a fear he could relapse.” To recap: The magazine says Pitt is “sober” but then writes how he supposedly “keeps partying.” It also first alleges Penn’s a “party animal” before contending that he’s been keeping his “boozing under control.”

Notwithstanding all the clear falsehoods and contradictions, Gossip Cop still fact-checked the story and a mutual friend of ours and Pitt tells us the Enquirer’s story is 100 percent wrong. Far from his pals worrying about him relapsing, none appear to be too concerned about Pitt attending a book party for Penn. Additionally, as opposed to the tabloid’s unnamed and questionable “insider,” Gossip Cop checked in with a Pitt’s rep, who exclusively told us on the record that the supermarket tabloid’s article in entirely “untrue.”

It appears the outlet’s story was concocted after Pitt and Penn were photographed together following the latter’s book party. For the record, that took place three weeks ago and not one single legitimate outlet has reported anything close to the tabloid’s wishy-washy tale. And the reason, of course, is because the report is a total fabrication.

Interestingly, as well, the gossip magazine offers virtually no details about the get-together to celebrate Penn’s book. For starters, the actor-director’s novel is called Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff. And also attending the dinner for the book, which was held on March 2 at Giorgio Baldi in the Pacific Palisades, were Laura Dern, Irina Shayk and Bradley Cooper. Oddly, the tabloid made no mention about friends of Cooper being worried about him falling off the wagon. Much like Pitt, Cooper is also sober after years of drinking.

Sadly, Gossip Cop is not exactly shocked by the tabloid’s erroneous article. Remember, this latest fib is coming from the same outlet that outlandishly asserted Pitt’s ex-wife Jennifer Aniston recently asked him to be her “baby daddy” and maintained he’s “on board with the plan.” In that work of fiction, the magazine’s so-called “source” alleged Aniston “had her eggs frozen years ago” and Pitt’s ready to “donate the sperm so they can finally have a child together.” That report was false, and so is this latest one about friends fearing Pitt will “relapse” because he hung out with Penn and a group of others at a restaurant.

While Pitt could one day relapse, much the way many others who struggle with alcohol issues do, it will have nothing to do with Penn or being at a dinner where alcohol was served. For now, however, the actor remains very committed to living a sober life. When asked in an interview with GQ how he could just one day stop boozing, Pitt responded, “Don’t want to live that way anymore.”