Brad Pitt pulled out of Baftas in attempt to repair broken relationship with son Maddox
BRAD Pitt’s absence from the Baftas was the talking point of the night, and not just because of his brilliant acceptance speech.
At the last minute Brad pulled out of the ceremony, with his representatives citing a “family obligation”.
And I can exclusively reveal the family member Brad was referring to was his 18-year-old eldest son Maddox, from his marriage to Angelina Jolie.
The pair’s relationship broke down in 2016 following a major row on a private jet flight, which saw the FBI investigate Brad over claims he had been “physically abusive” towards Maddox.
He was cleared and, with the help of Angelina, Brad has tried desperately to put his relationship with Maddox right. So when he was given a last-minute opportunity to do just that, he jumped at it.
A friend of Brad’s said: “Maddox gave Brad the chance to talk and he dropped everything.
“Being a father is the most important thing in his life and he would do anything to repair their relationship.
“Maddox has been away at university so when Brad found out he was going to be around and they could have a conversation, he cancelled the UK trip.”
Brad was noticeably absent when Angelina, who split with him in 2016, dropped off Maddox at Yonsei University in South Korea last year.
I really hope the family can resolve their issues.
Robbie wobbles
MARGOT Robbie was scared stiff before picking up Brad Pitt’s award on his behalf.
The actress went up to collect Brad’s Best Supporting Actor gong for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and read out a speech that included jokes about Prince Harry.
At the Baftas dinner afterwards, Margot admitted: “It was nerve-racking. I was terrified.
“It wasn’t even my award but it went fine.”
In the speech, Brad joked that he would name the award Harry because he was “really excited about bringing it back to the States” with him.
In a reference to Brexit – and Brad’s own up-and-down love life – she welcomed Britain to the singles club before finishing the speech with: “His words, not mine.”
By the time I spoke with her, Margot was celebrating with Grey Goose vodka tonics.
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Grimmy puts wild life on ice
NICK Grimshaw was once a real party animal but now he gets his kicks through exercise.
The DJ has signed up for a gruelling 100-mile trek across a frozen lake in Mongolia for Sport Relief next month.
He will be joined on the mission — dubbed On Thin Ice — by a raft of other stars to help raise money for mental-health causes.
They will cycle, skate, walk and even sleep on the ice.
Nick told me: “It’s basically a marathon a day — 25 miles a time — and we’re going to split the disciplines dependent on the ice. They think it’s going to be -30C.
“We’ll set up camp at the end of each day, sleeping on the ice. Sometimes I’m cold in my bed with pyjamas on and a duvet, so the sleeping bit is going to be tough.
“I went skiing once and it was really hard. I hated it!
“I was just falling over and over. And my skating experience is very limited — just once a year at Winter Wonderland.”
Grimmy has grown to love exercising following his own mental health struggle, which led him to seek therapy.
Opening up for the first time about his difficulties, he said: “I was feeling very anxious. I get bouts of severe anxiety and years ago I’d had that.
"I just didn’t mention it or deal with it and I was like, ‘Oh God, I’ll just keep quiet’.
"I had panic attacks a few times and they’re really scary.
"But the second I started talking to my friends about it, people were like, ‘I get that’.
"I went to therapy about four years ago and I was really scared to go.
“I thought I was being a drama queen. But I found it really life-changing and such a relief. It really changed my life.”
Speaking about feeling more grounded nowadays, he added: “I used to get FOMO (fear of missing out) and be like, ‘I’ve got to be there, that will be fun’.
"I don’t experience that now. I actually have JOMO, which is the opposite — the JOY of missing out.”
bizbit
HOST Graham Norton told the Baftas audience: “The majesty of the Royal Albert Hall.
"You know they’ve had all sorts of things over the years.
"Music, ballroom dancing, wrestling – and that was just the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest.”
Irina's Brad timing
THE most awkward moment of the Baftas took place at an after-party.
Model Irina Shayk had an unfortunate run-in with ex Bradley Cooper as they both celebrated at the Vogue X Tiffany bash.
Bumping into an ex is bad enough – I can only imagine how uncomfortable it must be when one of you is wearing a bathing suit with a bit of netting.
A fellow party-goer said: “Irina could only manage a few pleasantries before she scurried away from Bradley.
“Their split is still fresh and clearly they’re not yet in a place where they want to hang out together.”
I bet Bradley – a producer on Joker – wasn’t laughing after that.
Wasted grub
STARVING A-listers deserted their tiny vegan portions at the official dinner, instead choosing to fill up on grub at the after-parties.
Margot Robbie, Andrew Scott, Rebel Wilson and Renee Zellweger abandoned their unappetising plates of indistinguishable veggie mush, left, leaving waiters to clear away piles of untouched food.
If the awards really wanted to be sustainable, they should have served something more appetising.
Fall in a day's work for Al Pacin-ow!
AL Pacino took a tumble on the awards red carpet, but the veteran actor didn’t let it cramp his style.
The movie legend hit up all the after-parties with British actress Felicity Dean, just as friends said he had split from his girlfriend Meital Dohan, who is also an actress.
He is believed to have parted ways with the 40-year-old Israeli in recent months – after a year of dating – with the 39-year age gap proving too much.
A film source said: “Al and Felicity are long-term pals but have grown close lately. They have a lot in common and share the same sense of humour.
“Al is nearly 80 but he still has plenty of energy and loves to party and socialise.”
He lost out in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Netflix’s The Irishman but will be hoping for better luck at the Oscars this weekend, where he is up for the same award. Hopefully his journey down the red carpet will go a little smoother too.
'Ell of a look
NEWLYWED Ellie Goulding left little to the imagination.
She wore a short, black leather dress to party the night away – but later gave fans even more of an eyeful on Instagram.
Posting snaps from the event, she posed without the dress in just a lacy bra.
That’s one way to rack up more followers.
Not a joke
ONE of the brains behind Joker has admitted he feared for Best Actor winner Joaquin Phoenix’s sanity.
Cinematographer Lawrence Sher said: “When people take something on so deeply, and particularly a character that has madness inside of them, it can affect them.”
He also admitted he was worried about Joaquin’s extreme three-and-a-half-stone weight loss for the role.
After adding a Bafta to his Golden Globe, SAG and Critics’ Choice awards, I think Joaquin would say it was well worth it.
Maya's frock 'n' awe
THERE was no chance of missing Maya Jama in this yellow number.
The Radio 1 DJ wore a 5G-augmented reality dress powered by EE on the red carpet, then changed into this bright gown to get even more attention later on.
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She showed up to private club Annabel’s and was just about done partying at the Vogue bash at 2am. Not bad for a Sunday night.
Nicole Scherzinger was there too, but I hope she didn’t stay out as late.
The Pussycat Dolls star was up at dawn today, being spotted in London’s Borough Market with Jonas Brothers star Joe. The least she could have done was invited him to the party, too.
bizmeter
- AUSSIE actress Rebel Wilson hit back at criticism that her jokes offended the Royal Family when she mocked Prince Andrew and Harry in her speech. In a chat at an after-party bash, she said: “I don’t care about them. They have to have a good sense of humour – they get it. But I was nervous about the speech.”
- He’s a big star now but John Boyega isn’t too grand to grab a cab. The Star Wars hunk was overheard complaining about having to wait for an official car to ferry him from the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall to the Bafta dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel, saying that he’d call an Uber unless they hurried up.
- Best Actress winner Renee Zellweger couldn’t hide her joy at winning, screaming “I’m so excited” at Bridget Jones co-star Hugh Grant at an after-party. Earlier on, it took Renee 40 minutes to calm down and talk about her accolade.
- Bafta bosses told winners to keep their speeches down to 90 seconds to prevent the ceremony dragging on. Before it started, a dogsbody said to the audience: “A clock will appear on the screen in front of you, showing how much time you have left – but please don’t mention it in your speech.”
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