Brad Pitt Family Drama: Brother Doug Sounds Off on Mom's Anti-Gay Letter

Doug Pitt weighs in on their mother Jane's controversial missive to a Missouri newspaper

By Alexis L. Loinaz Jul 09, 2012 6:22 PMTags
Doug Pitt, Today ShowNBC

Looks like Brad Pitt's been upstaged by a woman again—and this time it didn't involve any leg-popping!

The megastar's mother, Jane Pitt, kicked up a fuss last week after writing a letter to a Missouri newspaper that opposed same-sex marriage while defending Mitt Romney for his "Christian conviction concerning homosexuality."

So far, Angelina Jolie's other half—who's been a vocal supporter of marriage equality—has remained mum about the controversy.

But his younger brother Doug Pitt, who's garnered his fair share of attention lately after starring in a trippy ad that went viral, is weighing in on their mother's outspoken opinions.

"Moms and dads and kids agree to disagree all over the world, so why would our family be any different?" Doug told Matt Lauer on the Today show Monday.

"There can be healthy discussion when people disagree with you, and I think there should be," he added. "The bad thing is when it turns into venom and negativity, and we don't have that in our family. It's open discussion; we can learn from each other...maybe you learn something."

In the letter, which Jane penned last week in response to another reader who rejected Romney for being a Mormon, she wrote: "I think any Christian should spend much time in prayer before refusing to vote for a family man with high morals, business experience, who is against abortion, and shares Christian conviction concerning homosexuality just because he is a Mormon."

Doug's Today show stint wasn't all about family drama, though: The budding thesp is reveling in his newfound fame after appearing in an ad for Virgin Mobile Australia that plays up his quirky persona—in other words, the anti–Brad Pitt.

"It's a little surreal but it's fun," he explained. "This whole campaign was to be tongue-in-cheek and have fun, and luckily, it's hit its mark."

So was there any sibling rivalry between him and his superstar bro?

Not in the least: In fact, Brad encouraged Doug to go for the job.

"I did call him and said, 'Hey, what do you think?' and he said, 'Do it, sounds great!'" Doug recalls.

When the ad finally came out, Doug said his big bro sent him a text that read, "Hey, just saw it—hilarious."

"I was pleased," Doug quipped.

See—even this family drama has a happy ending.