Angelina Jolie wants Brad Pitt to ‘end the fighting’ amid stretched-out legal battle for family's sake
The never-ending legal tussle between Brangelina takes another bitter turn as the duo maintains their narratives amid winery lawsuit.
Angelina Jolie has urged ex-husband Brad Pitt to “end the fighting” and drop his lawsuit over their winery, Chateau Miraval. Brangelina initially shared a 50/50 stake in the estate until 2021.
Paul Murphy, the “Salt” actress’ lawyer, asserted that even though her former partner “has control of all the properties they couple shared as well as control of the business, but still he demands more, and is suing Angelina for $67 million plus punitive damages.”
Angelina Jolie's latest statement urging Brad Pitt to drop the lawsuit
In a statement shared with Page Six, the legal representative said that Pitt “tried to punish and control Angelina by demanding a newly expanded NDA to cover his personal misconduct and abuse.” On the contrary, Jolie has persistently maintained that her ex-husband should “end the fighting and finally put their family on a clear path toward healing.” Jolie’s team wasn’t surprised by Pitt's fear of turning over certain documents “demonstrating these facts” central to the proceedings. “Unless Mr. Pitt withdraws his lawsuit, Angelina has no choice but to obtain the evidence necessary to prove his allegations wrong,” Murphy said.
Also read | Alec Baldwin says he may sue prosecutor, sheriff over 'Rust' trial
The former Hollywood couple has been butting heads in this legal battle since Jolie sold her shares of the winery for $67 million in October 2021. Thereafter, Pitt filed a lawsuit against her, claiming her sale contradicted their verbal agreement. In April, Jolie alleged that Pitt had renegotiated their previous agreement after refusing to buy her shares unless she agreed to sign an extensive NDA. The “Maleficent” actress felt it was an attempt to sweep his alleged abuse of her and her children under the rug. Pitt’s representatives, however, have denied this.
Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt's NDA tussle and fractured family ties
In June last year, Pitt’s lawyers filed documents stating that Jolie was the one who initially requested the broader NDA.
A source from Pitt’s side of the battle claimed it was “extremely upsetting” that Jolie had also “used the kids as a weapon against” the “Bullet Train” actor and “separated them from him.”
The “Mr and Mrs Smith” co-stars split in 2016, and its aftermath has been a nasty ordeal. This report followed the alleged claims of 2016, stating Pitt attacked Jolie and their children during a family plane trip that year. In addition to Jolie’s latest statement, Pitt is also seeking to dismiss Jolie’s request for his private messages about the plane incident.
Pitt’s filing obtained by USA Today states, “These private, third-party communications are far removed from the issues and allegations in this case, and in many cases, they have nothing but the most tenuous relationship to ‘what happened on that plane.’”
Accusations against Brad Pitt
According to an October 2022 filing, Jolie’s lawyers alleged Pitt “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her, and then grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her into the bathroom wall” during their flight to the French winery to California.
The ex-couple shares six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahar, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox. He was also accused of getting violent with some of them. Several adult Jolie-Pitt children recently also dropped Pitt’s name from their surname.
Per Thursday’s filing, Pitt’s attorney asserted that the actor had “voluntarily offered to produce documents sufficient to show everything that occurred on the flight precipitated the ex-couple’s divorce.” However, Jolie’s request seemingly extends beyond the family trip details. “If Jolie’s requests were really about ‘what happened on that plane’ as she claims, Pitt’s offer should have sufficed,” the filing reads.