Beyond Kim Soo-hyun: The Top Star with a Controversial History of Dating Underage Actresses
As controversy swirls around claims that Kim Soo-hyun was in a six-year relationship with the late Kim Sae-ron, who was a minor and 12 years his junior at the time, Brad Pitt’s past romances have also come under fresh scrutiny for his history of publicly dating three underage celebrities.
Regarded as one of Hollywood’s most handsome leading men, this actor has a long history of high-profile romances. However, his past relationships with underage actresses have sparked renewed controversy.
Early in his career, back in 1987, he found himself in a romantic relationship with Shalane McCall, whom he met while filming the TV series “Dallas.” What makes their relationship particularly controversial is the significant age gap – McCall was just 15 years old at the time, while he was 23.
Years later, his past remarks only added fuel to the fire. In a 2023 interview with W Magazine, he surprised many by recalling, “My favorite love scene is the barn haystack scene in Dallas. I was just rolling around and having fun.”
After parting ways with McCall, he moved on to another young star – Christina Applegate, who had already made a name for herself as a child actress on “Married… with Children.” When their relationship began, Applegate was only 16 years old.
Despite their brief one-year romance, Applegate went on to have a thriving career and later appeared in “Friends” as the on-screen sister of Jennifer Aniston, who would eventually become his real-life wife.
But his history of dating underage actresses didn’t stop there. He was also romantically involved with Juliette Lewis, an actress and singer known for films like “Natural Born Killers” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.” Their relationship, which began when Lewis was 17, went beyond dating – they even lived together for a period.
Even after they split, he looked back fondly on their time together, stating, “I still love her. She was truly a genius, and I had a great time with her.” However, Lewis offered a very different perspective in an interview with The Guardian, saying, “He is no longer in my universe. He’s a very famous person, but our relationship just feels like a high school thing to me.”
As these past relationships resurface, they continue to ignite heated discussions about the ethics of age disparities in celebrity romances, the influence of power dynamics in the entertainment industry, and the broader conversation surrounding the responsibility of Hollywood’s biggest stars in navigating such relationships.