Brad Pitt’s Big Donation Toward Marriage

It’s no secret that the world is eagerly waiting for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s wedding – if not to see the parents of six make their love legal with a certificate, then for the juicy details of where it happened, who wore what, and what food and wine were served. You know, the really important stuff. It’s also no secret, however, that Pitt and Jolie want to wait to follow through with their promise to marry until same-sex couples are also extended the same right. They’ve been waiting for quite a while now, but Pitt made another big effort to help move things along by donating $100K to the Human Rights Campaign.

The HRC is behind a huge effort to support the vote for same-sex marriages to become legally recognized in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington State.

Pitt explained his decision to donate such a large sum in an email to HRC supporters. He wrote, "It's unbelievable to me that people's lives and relationships are literally being voted on in a matter of days. If you're like me, you don't want to have to ask yourself on the day after the election, what else could I have done?"

Pitt has certainly put a legitimate effort forward on this issue as well. This isn’t even his first 100K donation. The 48-year-old actor and humanitarian donated the same impressive amount to fight Proposition 8 in California, which was a ballot initiative aimed at removing the right for same-sex couples to wed.

Pitt and Jolie have been dating for seven years, since they co-starred in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and they still drive the media crazy by continuing to do things on their own terms and not give in to convention. Together, they grew their family from one adopted child to six children – three adopted and three biological. They did not publically confirm their relationship until a year into it, when Jolie announced she was pregnant with Pitt’s child (later named Shiloh). 

The famous pair make headlines this year by finally becoming engaged, sharing with the media that they took the step because their children were asking for it. They are still avid supporters for the legalization of same-sex marriages, but at the end of the day, the happiness of their children comes first. And what parent could blame them?

Pitt summed up his feelings on the matter last year when he said, “No state should decide who can marry and who cannot. Thanks to the tireless work of so many, someday soon this discrimination will end and every American will be able to enjoy their equal right to marriage."