Christina Applegate at 17, already a TV star but struggling with confidence. Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty
In her explosive new memoir, Christina Applegate drops a bombshell about the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards—a night when she made a choice that would become Hollywood legend. At just 17, fresh from Married…With Children fame, she invited Brad Pitt as her date after their friendship grew from 21 Jump Street sets. "We were platonic, hanging out at my row house with friends," she writes, setting the stage for what would become one of the most talked-about celebrity snubs in history.
Initially crushing on Johnny Depp, Applegate admits her feelings for Pitt shifted. "One day I looked at Brad differently," she confesses. Pitt, then a rising actor, seemed to reciprocate, making their VMA date feel like the start of something more. But the night took an unexpected turn that would leave Pitt fuming for years.
Brad Pitt and Christina Applegate at the 1989 VMAs—little did he know he'd be ditched hours later. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Pitt played the perfect gentleman, even picking up Applegate's mom and friend. Dressed in a Ceil Chapman gown, the teen star felt a rare surge of confidence. "For once, I felt powerful," she reveals. That power led to a shocking decision: as the awards ended, she left with Skid Row's frontman Sebastian Bach, abandoning Pitt without a second thought. "His rock-star energy was irresistible," she admits, choosing Bach's wild charisma over Pitt's then-modest fame.
Sebastian Bach in 1989—the rock star who stole Applegate's attention. Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty
The aftermath was messy. Pitt, left to drive Applegate's mom and friend home, nearly got into a fistfight at a gas station out of frustration. "We didn't speak for years," Applegate notes, adding that Pitt later told girlfriends about "the girl who left him behind." Bach, in a 2016 interview, couldn't help but gloat: "For a moment, I was a hotter lay than Brad Pitt. That's going in the book!"
Decades later, Applegate and Pitt finally made peace. "He forgave the teenager who dumped him for a rock star," she writes, acknowledging Pitt's eventual superstardom with a hint of irony. This juicy tale is just one of many in her memoir, You With the Sad Eyes, now on shelves—proving that even Hollywood's biggest stars have awkward, rebellious pasts.
Sebastian Bach with Skid Row in 1989—the band that fueled Applegate's wild night. Krasner/Trebitz/Redferns
