When Brad Pitt Came to HGTV: Tears, Butt Makeup and Surprises on Celebrity IOU

Brad Pitt renovated makeup artist Jean Black's space as a big surprise on HGTV's Celebrity IOU

By Chris Harnick Apr 14, 2020 3:58 PMTags
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The last time viewers likely saw Brad Pitt on their televisions he was winning an Oscar for Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. Until now.

Pitt was the first celebrity on HGTV's Celebrity IOU, a new series with Property Brothers gurus Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott teaming up with stars to give back to loved ones in their lives. Pitt asked the Scott brothers to help him honor his friend Jean Black.

"Jean's a dear old friend. There's just people in your life that fate brings together and I'm forever grateful," Pitt said. They met in the early 1990s and have been friends for nearly 30 years.

The duo met on one of Pitt's first major jobs in Hollywood.

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"She's family, we're like brother and sister. We bicker. We fight. If I'm going to be on the West side, I'll often pit stop here, get a nap on the couch. Many people do. Jean's just one of those nucleuses that we all orbit around," Pitt said about the makeup artist.

"Even if I tank a scene, she's always right there telling me, ‘Hey, it's all right, it's good.' She's just been that person I value so much in my life. And just always there, not just for me, for anyone," Pitt said about his friend. "I don't even have the words to describe what a value she's been to me in my life. It's made the 40-some-odd films we've done together that much more enjoyable. I love her with all my heart. And to be able to do this for his is a dream, because this is a dream for her, something she's always wanted to do for 10 years. But it was never going to happen unless the brothers came here and got the thing done."

Pitt asked the Scotts to help renovate a space in Black's one-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow into a guest house/workspace on a three-week timetable.

While exploring the space, Pitt revealed Jean once had to put make-up on his butt because of bad tan lines. "It's something, when it comes up, we can't really look each other in the eye," Pitt joked.

Pitt was itching to get down to business for Jean. "I love the sounds of a construction site. If I'm not building, I'm dying I figure. I walk into a place and just see the possibilities," he said. "And this garage has been driving me crazy for the 15 years she's been here because there's so much potential. Challenging, but potential."

And once he got his hands on the tools, he certainly impressed the Scott brothers.

"Oh, my gosh, I think he out-smashed us," Jonathan said.

Once they had the big reveal, it was safe to say Black was shocked. "I honestly can't take it all in," she said. "It was like a dream."

As the reveal went on, Pitt couldn't help but mug to the camera as Black took in surprise after surprise. When Pitt and Black had time to themselves after the Scott brothers left, Black wiped away tears as she thanked Pitt. Then the two ran classic movie lines with each other.

"It's amazing to see someone who is extremely successful be grounded enough to always remember the people who helped them get there," Jonathan said in a statement when the show was announced.

"Being a part of this show really hits home for us," Drew shared. "This is what we love to do, transforming people's lives through their homes."

Celebrity IOU airs Mondays, 9 p.m. on HGTV.