Brad Pitt gets out of doing jury service because 'he's too distracting'

Brad Pitt was excused from jury duty after an attorney said that the celebrity’s opinion could influence the rest of the jurors.

17:50 19 December 2014

Brad Pitt was dismissed from jury duty on Friday because ‘he’s too distracting’ and because his opinion could positively influence the rest of the jurors.

The Fury actor arrived at a Los Angeles courtroom along with other potential jurors and was said to be disappointed that he wasn’t chosen.

An attorney in the city, William R. Lively, offered an explanation saying: "Like any other potential juror, Brad would have received a jury summons that required him to travel downtown and be interviewed by the judge or attorneys in what is called voir dire.

"This is a system of examination whereby both the prosecution and defense have the opportunity to object to a particular juror.

"In most cases as soon as it's discovered that a potential juror is a major celebrity, that person is dismissed, but that is not always the case."

"You just can't stick Brad Pitt in a jury box and expect 11 jurors to ignore him.

"It's only natural that those jurors would be watching to see how Brad reacts to what's being said and that they could be influenced by his opinions once the jury goes behind closed doors to render a verdict."

Meanwhile a source added: "Brad was hoping he might get picked to serve on a short case, but the problem was, he would actually be required to serve for as long as it took for the case to be decided."