Brad Pitt is really proud of Angelina Jolie for going public with double mastectomy

On Tuesday, Angelina Jolie revealed that she had recently undergone a preventive double mastectomy. The actress, whose mother died from cancer at 56, made her announcement in an op-ed published in The New York Times.

Not long after its publication, Jolie's husband, Brad Pitt, spoke with the folks at USA Today. How's he feel about the whole thing? He says he's incredibly proud of his wife makes a point of explaining part of her motivation for going public with a typically private matter.

"I'm quite emotional about it, of course," said the World War Z star. "She could have stayed absolutely private about it and I don't think anyone would have been none the wiser with such good results. But it was really important to her to share the story and that others would understand it doesn't have to be a scary thing. In fact, it can be an empowering thing, and something that makes you stronger and us stronger."

He also said he's very much relieved to have the whole thing behind them, because it felt like the possibility of cancer had been looming over them.

Overall, Pitt called it the experience "an emotional and beautifully inspiring few months. And I'll tell you, it's such a wonderful relief to come through this and not have a spectre hanging over our heads. To know that that's not going to be something that's going to affect us. My most proudest thing is our family. This isn't going to get that." [USA Today]