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Pitt Says Cover Pic Ain't Fair

Wed., Nov. 1, 2006 12:21 PM PST by Gina Serpe

All may be fair in love and war, but magazine cover shots are another story.

Brad Pitt is considering taking legal action against Vanity Fair, according to his publicist, after learning the publication used an "unauthorized"—not to mention quite steamy—photo of the actor on its December cover without his permission.

A blue-hued Pitt appears dripping wet in nothing more than white boxers and socks while holding a gun on the cover of the magazine's inaugural art issue, and while women of the world may hold no objections, the Babel star is less than pleased.

According to Angelina Jolie's better half, Pitt voluntarily donned the underthings for the camera, though his intention was never to have the footage be so publicly displayed.

He claims the cover shot is actually a still taken from a video portrait he made with artist Robert Wilson in September 2005 and that he never gave the okay for any portion of it to appear in print. (The avant-garde video depicts a silent Pitt getting soaked by water, and ends with the actor raising a water pistol and firing toward the camera.)

"We are very disappointed that Vanity Fair has chosen to put an unauthorized cover on their magazine," the 42-year-old's publicist told E! News. "It seriously makes me question their integrity and motives."

According to Pitt's camp, he only found out he would be gracing the magazine's cover when publicity photos for the issue began making the Internet rounds last week.

Reps for Vanity Fair, however, deny allegations that they came into possession of the footage by illicit means and claim Pitt knew of his coverboy status well in advance of the magazine's printing.

"Brad Pitt posed for a Robert Wilson video portrait and, in the photo release (signed by Pitt), agreed to allow Wilson to use the portrait or any images from that sitting in connection with any publicity on Wilson's video project," the magazine said in a statement to E! News.

Enter the magazine's inaugural art issue and their decision to showcase portions of Wilson's art installation within their glossy pages.

"Vanity Fair decided to do a story on Wilson's video portraits and obtained rights to the entire collection of photographs from those sittings, which included Pitt's," the mag said.

As for Pitt's claim that his presence on the cover was news to him, the magazine said Wilson himself informed the actor's reps that stills from his sitting would be included in the publication last month.

"In a letter dated October 5, 2006, and sent to Pitt care of Brillstein-Grey, Wilson informed Pitt that a still image from his portrait was going to be featured in the December art issue of Vanity Fair."

In the issue, though perhaps not on.

But semantics aside, the issue will reportedly also feature stills—undisputed, at that—of Isabella Rossellini, Sean Penn, Willem Dafoe and Winona Ryder, all of whom Wilson has caught on film.

Authorized or not, the underwear-clad Pitt, who has willingly graced the cover of Vanity Fair in solo shots twice before, appears on newsstands later this month, while Wilson's complete works will be shown in New York early next year.