Now you know I am all over the hotness of Brad Pitt. I even like him with a bob. Brad Pitt, even weathered, noticeably, still works for me. Almost always works for me. Except...

Not even I can defend this cover.

It’s the new cover of Sports Illustrated, in time for the release of Moneyball. And it’s terrible. They totally f-cked him up. Why is his skin the same colour as the background? Is it to make his eyes appear lighter? What it’s doing is it’s freaking me out. Like those paintings in a museum and you wonder whether or not Mona Lisa is following you around...

It’s not easy making Brad Pitt look this sh-t. So I wonder if this wasn’t some kind of man revenge. Let’s f-ck him up on purpose. How else can you explain it?

Anyway, after spending the weekend in London with the Jolie, Brad is now in LA to make a final push for Moneyball before its release on Friday. Have I mentioned it’s a really, really good movie just 15 minutes too long? Happily though it doesn’t feel as long as Benjamin Button which is to say it won’t make you want to kill yourself. Moneyball showcases Pitt’s range, and his range is excellent, and now they just need it to do well commercially...

The premiere is tonight in Oakland and there’s some word that Angelina didn’t fly with him. Now that’s not to say she didn’t arrange for a separate flight or whatever but if he does show up alone tonight, given what happened last week with his comments about Jennifer Aniston and subsequent backtracking on the Parade interview, some may interpret it as a curious development worthy of a tabloid Wednesday. They close tonight, and trust me, they’re waiting on what happens at tonight’s event before they put their new issues to bed. After all, it’s not often these two don’t work a carpet together. And it’s so much more fun when they do. We’ll find out in a few hours. Will post tomorrow.

For more from Brad Pitt in Sports Illustrated, click here.