The internet is freaking out about the latest cover of GQ Magazine, featuring Brad Pitt – or at least a figure somewhat like him.
On Wednesday, GQ released his profile of the veteran movie star, who appears to be floating in a dark pool of flowers on the cover, his face frozen in a blank stare. The actor spoke to the publication to promote his upcoming action movie “Bullet Train”, which is set to premiere in August.
Reactions from social media to the cover photo were not friendly to put it lightly. Some compared the actor’s pale face to that of a corpse. More than one person described the experience of coming across the photo on their Twitter timeline as a “leap”. Another compared the image to a ‘wax figure’.
In general, people seemed to think that GQ did a stunning job of making Pitt – someone known for good looks – look anything but.
“Very disturbing that GQ killed Brad Pitt and displayed his corpse on their cover,” tweeted Scott Russell, music editor at Paste Magazine.
“Whoever chose that cover for Brad Pitt’s GQ issue is fireddddd,” wrote @nicholasdante_.
“Everyone is asking who did the body on that Brad Pitt GQ cover,” tweeted @SoloChills.
on Instagramphotographer Elizaveta Porodina, who shot the cover, said it was “a really surreal feeling to see a face you’ve known so well throughout your life, reflected in the photos you’ve taken yourself.
“It’s an even more surreal feeling to see Brad Pitt collaborate on your vision, taking on every challenge with charm and humor, understanding the images so quickly to the core – and adding something of himself, something special – that would enrich the story even more.”
In his in-depth interview with the fashion magazine, Pitt discusses everything from his production company and film career to his dreams and COVID-19 pandemic hobbies. A particularly wild fragment from the conversation concerns a French vineyard at the center of a legal battle between Pitt and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie.
Earlier this year, Pitt filed a lawsuit Accusing Jolie of illegally selling her shares to a Russian vodka billionaire her shares in the estate where the former famous couple married in 2014. of gold was buried somewhere on the property.
“I became obsessed,” Pitt said. “For a year this was all I could think about, just the excitement of it all. …Maybe it has something to do with where I grew up, because in the Ozark Mountains there were always stories of hidden caches of gold.”
After failing to find buried treasure, Pitt admitted that the search ended up being “pretty silly”, but “exciting” nonetheless.
“A lot of people talk about what the hell Brad Pitt looks like in that GQ cover, but my favorite part is in the article when he says a con man convinced him to spend a year excavating his French mansion in pursuit of millions of dollars. gold stolen from the Levant during the Crusades,” tweeted @aniceburrito.
Of course, Pitt also talked about his latest acting project, “Bullet Train,” directed by his former stunt double, David Leitch. The supporting cast of the transport thriller includes Sandra Bullock, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Zazie Beetz, Karen Fukuhara, Michael Shannon, Brian Tyree Henry and Bad Bunny.
Even with a star-studded new movie coming to theaters soon, Pitt told GQ that he… on the “last stage” of his acting career.
“This one [is the] last semester or trimester,” he said. ‘What’s this part going to be? And how do I want to shape that?”
Check out more reactions to Pitt’s GQ takeover below.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times†