Brad Pitt pulls out of promotions for Allied amid bitter custody battle

Brad Pitt has pulled out of all of his promotional commitments for his new movie Allied in the wake of his split from Angelina Jolie, it has been reported.

The 52-year-old actor, who is embroiled in a bitter custody battle with the Maleficent actress, has cancelled all interviews and chat show appearances and will not participate in press junkets for the film amid the controversy around his high-profile divorce.

A source told The Sun: "This was supposed to be the start of a big campaign push for Brad to finally win an acting Oscar but there's too much controversy for him to risk any publicity.

"Loads of chat show studios are gutted as they had him booked to come on and dozens of journalists have had their interviews scrapped," it was claimed. "They are also being briefed not to ask anybody else associated with the film about Brad's personal life."

The actor is also not expected to walk the red carpet in Los Angeles at the film's premiere. "They know it's important he is seen to support the film but this is a huge crisis for him and the current tactic is to lie low," the source said. "If he does appear, he'll not say a word to any media and will sneak in a side door."

Pitt plays Max Vatan in the forthcoming romantic thriller which also stars Marion Cottilard. Following reports that the Hollywood A-list couple had split, the French actress, who is pregnant, issued a statement denying any part in the break-up amid speculation that her chemistry with the actor left Jolie insecure.

In his petition, Pitt cites irreconcilable differences as the reason for the divorce and reveals the date of separation as 15 September, the same day mentioned by Jolie in her divorce filing to end their two-year-old marriage, Mail Online reported.

Jolie, who announced the split on 19 September, claimed she had made the decision to end their marriage "for the health of her family", requesting full physical custody of the couple's six children. However, Pitt has pledged to fight back and is seeking joint physical and legal custody of Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, eight.

It was alleged that the Hollywood couple's relationship came to a head following a drunken row aboard a plane, during which it was claimed their eldest son Maddox was struck after he attempted to intervene between his quarrelling parents.

A friend of the 52-year-old star has claimed that the allegations have been "exaggerated and fabricated" as part of a smear campaign against him.

Since reports of their impending divorce, the World War Z actor has been maintaining a low profile. On 28 September he skipped the premiere of Terrence Malick's new documentary, Voyage Of Time: The IMAX Experience, which he narrated.

In a statement, he said he was missing the event because he was "currently focused on my family situation and don't want to distract attention away from this extraordinary film".

Pitt said he was "saddened" by the end of his marriage and requested privacy for the couple's six children as he called on his estranged wife to "lower the volume" on the public custody battle.