Brad Pitt made lots of headlines this week by letting it slip in an interview that he’s drinking again after being sober for more than seven years.

The 62-year-old movie star got recovery experts debating his claims in Esquire magazine that he’s learned to moderate his once-out-of-control alcohol consumption after he praised abstinence-based 12-step meetings as recently as last year. Meanwhile, his ex-wife Angelina Jolie joined the conversation by reportedly saying she never believed he “fundamentally changed” after his drinking allegedly contributed to their acrimonious 2016 split and his estrangement from their six children.

But amid all the social media uproar, veteran entertainment and gossip writers wonder if something else is going on with Pitt’s revelation — beyond that he needs to promote his two upcoming movies, “Heart of the Beast” and “The Adventures of Cliff Booth.”

They’re asking: Why is this coming now and why does Pitt feel it’s something people need to know about him?

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt attend the Cinema for Peace Gala ceremony at the Konzerthaus Am Gendarmenmarkt during day five of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival on February 13, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Cinema for Peace) 

“Something’s going on with Brad,” celebrity publicist-turned gossip writer Rob Shuter said while appearing on journalist Maureen Callahan’s The Nerve YouTube show Wednesday. “He’s on the cover of Esquire magazine where he talks about drinking again. It’s a very revealing interview. It’s an interview that Brad would not have given 10 years ago. I think we’re going to find a lot more information about Brad and and I’m for it.”

Shuter also said: “I think Brad is getting sick of the B.S.” Shuter was referring to the onslaught of headlines over the past several months about four of Pitt’s six children, ages 18 to 24, officially cutting ties with him by dropping his last name from their own.

Callahan agreed that Pitt may no longer care about appearing as though he’s trying to make up to his children, if they’ve been public about wanting nothing more to do with him.

But she also speculated that something darker could be going on, and wondered if news will break that presents Pitt in a negative light. “I’m wondering if he is trying to get ahead of something,” she said. “Why admit that you’re drinking again?”

Shuter agreed that the timing is “not a coincidence. If we’d caught Brad having a drink at the Four Seasons Hotel, then that is breaking news.”

Shuter also pointed out that Pitt was clearly not coerced into talking about his drinking by a pushy magazine writer. As the Esquire interview was presented, Pitt appeared to maneuver the writer, Ryan D’Agostino, into asking about his drinking. This move seemed calculated and was probably worked out by Pitt and his P.R. team, Shuter said.

Pitt invited D’Agostino into his Los Angeles home, with its expansive views, prepared a charcuterie platter and offered him some wine.

With that, D’Agostino asked if the wine is something he just had available for guests. Pitt said no, explaining how he’s “off the wagon” but no longer drinks in “big quantities.”

“I got overconfident a couple times, went, Yep, nope, not good for me,” Pitt said. He also said he can have a glass of wine. “Yeah. Well . . . I can have a few,” he said. “But I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it.”

Callahan noted Pitt’s use of the word “professional” in regards to his drinking. Pitt previously used that word in 2017, when he first opened up about his problems with alcohol in an interview with GQ. He mentioned the fact that he and Jolie bought the Chateau Miraval winery together in the South of France earlier in their relationship, which means he enjoys wine “very, very much.” He continued:  “But I just ran it to the ground. … And truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.”

Angelina Jolie, daughter Zahara, Brad Pitt and son Maddox take a stroll on the seafront promenade in Mumbai on November 12, 2006. (Getty Images) 

This interview came after Jolie made the shocking move in September 2016 to file for divorce, ending one of Hollywood’s most storied romantic partnerships. She subsequently accused Pitt in court documents of drinking too much on a private plane ride back from Europe, during which he allegedly abused her and their six children, emotionally and physically.

As Pitt was campaigning to win a best supporting actor Oscar for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” he opened up some more about changing his ways. He told the New York Times in 2019 that he had joined a 12-step community and, at a 2020 awards gala, thanked his friend Bradley Cooper in 2020 for helping him get sober.

As recently as last year, the “F1” star talked to actor and podcaster Dax Shepard about the benefits of attending an Alcoholic Anonymous men’s group, saying, “I just thought it was just incredible. Men sharing their experiences, their foibles, their missteps, their wants, their aches, and a lot of humor with it. I thought it was a really special experience.”

But those 12-step meeting may be in the past. Meanwhile, Shuter also brought up another bit of interesting timing around Pitt’s buzzy Esquire interview. This week, the Daily Mail also reported that he continues to be on good terms with Jennifer Aniston, whom he infamously divorced in 2005 so that he could pursue his romance with Jolie.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 19: Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston attend the 26th Annual Screen Actors¬†Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. 721313 (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Turner) 

Following the divorce, Pitt “humiliated” Aniston by appearing to flaunt his relationship with Jolie and the way he was building a family with her, Callahan said. The Nerve host accused people on his team of spreading stories about Aniston that made it sound like he had no choice but to divorce her because she couldn’t or wouldn’t give him children — while he went on to have three biological children with Jolie and to adopt three others with her.

“It was so misogynistic,” Callahan said. Pitt’s apparent lack of awareness and empathy regarding such stories prompted Aniston to famously say in a 2005 Vanity Fair interview: “There’s a sensitivity chip that’s missing.”

“I just don’t know what happened,” Aniston continued in the interview. “I feel as if I’m trying to scrounge around and pick up the pieces in the midst of this media circus.”

But according to Shuter and Callahan, Pitt’s team now wants it to be known that he’s back on good terms with his first ex-wife, possibly because the former “Friends” star is so “well-loved in Hollywood.” He may need her approval to maintain the good will of the public as he promotes his upcoming work, the journalists said.

According to the Daily Mail, “insiders” insisted that Pitt has “no hidden agenda” with Aniston. He also doesn’t expect to be “rekindling their romance.” More than anything, he values their friendship and “getting back together with her and talking again was one of the best decisions that he has ever made,” the Daily Mail said.