Wednesday's New York Daily News Rush and Molloy column carried a story about Brad that gave me pause. The column repeats a Star magazine story about "a bit of a blowout" between Brad and Angelina about whether or not to get hitched. Reportedly, the fight ended with Angelina storming out of their Paris pad, Maddox and Zahara in tow. This tale echoes a narrative that has been batted around in the tabloids for months, but seems to be gaining credibility with every weekend that we're told Brad and Angelina plan to marry at George Clooney's Lake Como estate -- and then don't! It seems that Brad is pushing for marriage before the birth of their child, while Angelina is resisting. According to the latest French source, "Brad says it's like he can do nothing right these days ... They argue about everything, from his cigarette smoking to world politics to how much he loves her! And apparently Angelina has told him she prefers the way he was when they first met -- independent and masculine -- and that she's getting tired of his whining and possessiveness."
Hmm. What to make of this news? On the one hand, I guess it's good to know that Brad isn't trying to evade commitment to his hard-ass girlfriend -- that in fact he feels perfectly comfortable pursuing her. And what's with her boiled-down conflation of independence and masculinity?
But, buddy, if she's not into it, she's not into it! It's discomfiting to think of Brad being so attached to hetero norms that he's pushing for marriage when Angelina -- a single mom long before he arrived on the scene -- seems comfortable with her own autonomy.
The whole thing is mind-boggling, no question. But really, would we expect anything less from Brad, the man who can leave us cold by ditching Wife No. 1 for failure to reproduce, but who first delighted us in Bradsheet ur-text "Thelma & Louise?"
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