If you’ve watched Netflix’s latest hit, Adolescence, you’ll understand why the show has caused shockwaves around the world. A harrowing four-part series that unpicks the way young boys can be radicalised by misogynistic content online, it follows 13-year-old Jamie after he’s accused of murdering his female classmate, Katie, in a violent knife attack.

The series, created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, has been credited as a ‘TV perfection’ by critics, with an approval rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. ‘Adolescence asks who and what we are teaching boys and how we expect them to navigate this increasingly toxic and impossible world when our concept of masculinity still seems to depend on boys and men doing so alone,’ The Guardian’s TV critic Lucy Mangan writes. ‘And it keeps the victim present enough that the question of how many girls and women will die while we try to work it all out stays with us, too.’

For many viewers, Adolescence comes at an integral time. Women’s lives and freedoms are being attacked all around the world, violence an unequivocal consequence. In Afghanistan, women are no longer allowed to be seen from windows. In Iran, security services are using drones to enforce strict dress codes – women subject to arrest, beating and sexual violence if they defy the law. In the US, experts warn of a growing maternal and infant mortality crisis following women’s access to abortion being overturned in 2022.

Most recently, Donald Trump’s executive orders attacking gender polices and DEI programs have led to a number of government agencies removing words like ‘women’, ‘female’ and ‘trauma’ from their websites. Plus, research agencies, like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, are cross-referencing research projects and grants with the word ‘women’ to flag them for further review – meaning if the projects dare to contain the word ‘women’, they could be deemed problematic to approve or fund.

The world has always been a dangerous place for women. But with so much of our lives existing online, one cannot deny so much of this feels like a direct consequence of years of violent misogyny and hostility on the internet going unchecked. Campaigns for political elections are fought online, battle lines drawn with memes and engagement farming, men who would’ve been nameless before social media now becoming so popular they command the attention of presidents and powerful elite alike.

Trump, for example, is reported to have helped outspoken misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan – who are currently under investigation for rape, human trafficking and coercive control by authorities in Romania, allegations they deny – travel back to the US, with their lawyer Joseph McBride implying the US president helped obtain their release from Romania. When asked by reporters  if Trump played a role, he said ‘Do the math. These guys are on the plane’. Trump has denied helping.

Regardless, would a president have ever known a man like Andrew Tate existed without an internet that rewards his content strategy of producing extremely hateful content about women? Unlikely. Men like Tate, and the rage bait content they create, is just another engagement tool powerful people can weaponise to manipulate public attention and debate. 

One can see why Adolescence has promoted so much conversation then. By refusing to give Jamie a troubled background, it points the finger directly at online misogyny and makes the point that it creates real world violence – much of which we’re seeing play out before our own eyes right now in much more insidious forms.

When making such a powerful point, attention undoubtedly turns to the creators of such incredible TV. And while Graham and Thorne are known powerhouses of political programming, viewers were confused by one contributor: Brad Pitt. Yes, the Hollywood giant is listed as an executive producer in the TV show. His production company, Plan B Entertainment, is one of five that worked on it.

Why is that so controversial? Well, because of historic domestic abuse allegations levied against him by ex-wife Angelina Jolie. In court documents, Jolie alleged Pitt was verbally and physically abusive to her and their children on a private plane from France to Los Angeles in 2016 and later claimed that he had a ‘history of abuse’ toward her. Pitt has denied all allegations and was not charged after an FBI probe into the incident. Jolie filed a lawsuit to obtain details about the investigation and why no charges were filed, but the case was dismissed.

Now, viewers are asking whether it’s appropriate for a man who has been accused of violence toward a woman and his children to work on a project like Adolescence, even if he hasn’t been charged with said crime. ‘The way this is the like fifth film/show about assault and misogyny he’s produced, just incredibly nasty,’ one viewer comment on X. ‘I literally just started and saw his name I’m so mad coz apparently the show is incredible regarding the topic incels are losing the plot so to see his name attached is…’

Some also pointed out that Pitt worked with Harvey Weinstein after his alleged attempted assaults on Jolie, as well as his former girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow. Jolie claims Weinstein attempted to assault her in 1998, while Paltrow says he sexually harassed her in 1996 – Pitt and Paltrow were dating at the time and Pitt claimed to have confronted Weinstein about it. Their allegations didn’t surface until 2018, after the New York Times’ investigation into Weinstein started the MeToo movement. He was accused harassment, assault or rape by more than 80 women and denied all allegations. He was convicted of rape in three cases, one conviction in Los Angeles and one in New York. He is currently facing retrial for the New York conviction after procedural errors saw it overturned in 2024 – the retrial is set for April 15th.

Pitt worked with Weinstein on multiple projects across his career, including Inglorious Bastards in 2009 and Killing Me Softly in 2012. In a 2021 interview, Jolie alleges that Pitt knew about Weinstein’s alleged attempted assault on her but chose to work with him anyway. ‘We fought about it. Of course it hurt,’ Jolie said in an interview. In 2019, Pitt co-produced She Said, the film adaption of the New York Times’ investigation into Weinstein and publicly disavowing the director. He did not comment on Jolie’s allegation.

Much of this history is now being revisited online, with many raising queries about how appropriate Pitt’s involvement in Adolescence really is, given the context of male violence. He hasn’t commented on the concerns, nor has anyone from the team who produced Adolescence. Should he be involved? It’s seemingly up for endless debate.