The Los Angeles Police Department is not investigating the actor Brad Pitt for child abuse, a spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. Seeking to debunk rumours that the actor’s recently announced divorce was linked to an outburst against his children earlier this month, Sergeant Barry Montgomery told the Hollywood Reporter that no investigation was underway.

“We understand how rumours get spun up,” he said, “and hopefully we can put a few of them to rest. We have no criminal investigation that we are actively pursuing.”

Montgomery added that, to his knowledge, Pitt had never spoken to police about such an issue. “And right now, that is where our office is. We are not investigating any case, nor do we have any allegations against Mr Pitt.”

Earlier on Thursday, TMZ reported that Pitt spoke to police following an incident on a private jet in which he was verbally and physically abusive to his six children. They also alleged that the LAPD and LA County Department of Children and Family Services were pursing the charges. Multiple other outlets published the story.

Jolie issued divorce proceedings against Pitt on Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple married in 2014, having already been together for a decade. They have six children.

On Wednesday, Pitt’s co-star, Marion Cotillard, attacked “media and the haters” for speculating that she had had a relationship with the actor which contributed to his separation. Writing on Instagram, Cotillard denied such a relationship and said she was “not used to commenting on things like this nor taking them seriously but as this situation is spiraling and affecting people I love, I have to speak up”.