In today’s issue of Back Row:
Brad Pitt’s face has been captivating the internet; I interviewed a doctor whose speculation that he’s had a facelift has gone viral.
, author of , offers her take on the fascination with Pitt — and the veracity of plastic surgery analysis videos on TikTok and Reels.
News highlights from London Fashion Week, including Daniel Lee’s heavy-handed new Burberry collection.
Seven months ago, a Reddit user shared a photo of Brad Pitt, writing, “This is Brad Pitt @ 59 years old.” The user speculated about whether or not he was taking the hair loss prevention drug finasteride. Though the post was marked “satire,” a serious-seeming discussion ensued about why he looks so youthful.
“He's a multimillionaire. I doubt genetics is the only thing keeping that going,” replied one user. Below that, with 288 upvotes, another noted, “That’s 100% a VERY TASTEFULLY done Face Lift.”
The discussion about his face continued over on Instagram, where a viral analysis posted on January 22 has 11.7 million views, with more than 272,000 likes.
In the video, doctor Jonny Betteridge discusses what he believes Pitt had done to his face. “It was at Wimbledon last year that his transformation was noticed,” Betteridge says over a photo of Pitt from the same day at Wimbeldon that the Reddit user had shared. Betteridge compares that image to a photo of Pitt from 2020: “Look at the change in his face and how [much] more youthful he looks.” Betteridge zooms in on his ear, and continues, “When you see him from the side on profile, you can see the change in the lower face contour is really impressive, and you can tell this is related to a face lift by looking for this scar [by his ear].”
Pitt is one of the few male celebrities who, has been subjected to celebratory coverage about how he’s aging “in reverse.” While we’re used to this kind of commentary about famous women, it’s somewhat jarring to see it applied to a man, which may explain why Betteridge’s Reel has gone so viral. (He followed it up with an analysis of Bradley Cooper, which has 3.4 million views; he argues again that Cooper has had a face lift, pointing to what he believes are scars around his ear.)
On one hand, it feels like a potential Reductress headline: “Feminism Win! Man Subjected to Same Plastic Surgery Speculation Women Have Endured for Decades.” On the other, maybe it’s not bad to acknowledge how middle-aged men who look freakishly fantastic aren’t just genetically blessed and privy to the “right” skincare products. (You may have forgotten, but Pitt has a luxury skincare line called Le Domaine; if you go to the website, you’ll see photos of him holding “Le Serum,” which is branded as “anti aging” and costs $275 for a single fluid ounce.)
Betteridge, who practices in London, told me he’s a trained NHS doctor who went from emergency medicine to anesthesiology before realizing he wasn’t passionate about what he was doing. He pivoted to facial aesthetics, started his own practice about five years ago, and specializes in non-surgical procedures like filler and Botox, referring patients who desire results that can only be achieved through surgery out to a plastic surgeon. He said his business has “grown exponentially” in the last 18 to 24 months, and that he’s received more than 800 inquiries already this year from social media alone, “which is madness.”
“I'm not an influencer. I'm a business owner and an aesthetics doctor using social media to market my services,” said Betteridge, who has 210,000 Instagram followers. “And my primary goal for the content that I put out there is to drive inquiries and bookings.” He knows other doctors in his field who spend £10,000 to £15,000 ($12,600 to $19,000) a month on advertising, but hasn’t needed to thanks to the success of his social media posts. (Though I found him on Instagram, his videos also perform well on TikTok, where he counts 125,500 followers.)
Betteridge receives a lot of negative comments, particularly among people who believe everyone should accept how they look and leave their faces alone. He counters that everyone wants to change something about themselves, and if doing so gives them confidence, why stop them?
According to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, men are getting more non-invasive procedures. While fewer men got facelifts in 2022 than 2019, neuromodulator injections (Botox and the like) increased 65 percent and fillers 70 percent over that period. For women, the number of Botox and filler procedures increased 74 percent and 70 percent respectively. Betteridge’s customers are about 70 percent women, 30 percent men. He’s noticed that the videos he posts of men, including celebrity analyses and his work on his male patients, lead to men coming into his practice.
While Betteridge knows exactly what he’s done to his own patients, he acknowledges that his celebrity analyses are guesses. “I always word it in a way where I'm giving my opinion and speculate. I never like to commit because obviously I don't know for sure,” he said. He added that he receives messages from surgeons in America who tip him off about what certain people have had done, and consults with the plastic surgeon to whom he refers patients.
The Pitt video went so viral that the Daily Mail published a story about it, reporting:
Brad's representatives declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline.
A source close to Brad dismissed he had a face lift.
That Pitt’s team neither denied or confirmed “obviously says it all, doesn’t it?” Betteridge said.
But
, veteran beauty editor and author of the Substack , which helps readers navigate the wide world of increasingly available aesthetic treatments, isn’t so sure.Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
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