In new court documents related to lawsuit in the sale of Jolie's share of their winery, her lawyers allege that the 'World War Z' actor was abusive toward her before the incident that led to their divorce.
- Apr 5, 2024
AceShowbiz - Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's contentious legal battle isn't going to end anytime soon. The actress' legal team has accused her ex-husband of physical abuse prior to the 2016 plane incident that led her to filing for divorce.
On Thursday, April 4, the "Maleficent" star's attorneys filed a motion seeking to release communications that they say would prove Pitt purportedly tanked the sale of his ex-wife's share of their Chateau Miraval winery to him. According to the filing, Pitt would not let Jolie sell her share of the winery to him unless she agreed to a "more onerous" and "expansive" NDA.
"If that sale had been completed, this lawsuit never would have happened. But at the last minute, Pitt 'stepped back' from his agreement to buy Jolie's interest in Miraval, and the deal collapsed. The question at the heart of this case - and at the center of this motion - is why," the motion stated.
The answer, her attorneys said, has to do with sealed documents Jolie submitted in the ex-couple's separate but simultaneous custody dispute. The sealed March 2021 documents "caused Pitt to fear that the information could eventually become public," her lawyers claimed.
"While Pitt's history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family's September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles, this flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him," the motion stated.
"Jolie's sealed filing, which included emails, summaries of the family's expected testimony and other evidence, caused Pitt to fear that the information could eventually become public," her lawyers wrote, adding that Pitt wanted Jolie to "contractually bind herself to that silence" about his alleged "personal misconduct, whether related to Miraval or not."
Jolie never pressed charges as the filing said, "She believed the best course was for Pitt to accept responsibility and help the family recover from the post-traumatic stress he caused." It also alleged that Pitt refused to seek domestic violence counseling.
A rep for Pitt declined to comment, but a friend of his, who is familiar with the litigation over the years, told PEOPLE, "This is a pattern of behavior - whenever there is a decision that goes against the other side they consistently choose to introduce misleading, inaccurate and/or irrelevant information as a distraction," a friend of Pitt." The friend added, "There was a lengthy custody trial that involved the entire history of their relationship and a judge who heard all the evidence still granted him 50/50 custody."
A June 2023 filing from Pitt's legal team also claimed that Jolie was the one who suggested an "even broader non-disparagement clause" as part of the deal and Pitt's team presented a "narrower" one "intended to protect the business."
Recently, the actress begged her ex to help their family "heal in private" after she scored a win in the winery lawsuit. "Mr. Pitt's lawsuit has never been about a business dispute; instead, it is about his attempts to cover up serious abuse, and we are gratified the judge has thrown out so much of Mr. Pitt's complaint," her attorney Paul Murphy said in a statement regarding the judge's ruling. "Angelina truly harbors no ill-will toward Mr. Pitt, and hopes he will now release her from his frivolous lawsuit, stop his relentless attacks, and join her in helping their family heal in private."
Brad sued Angelina over her decision to sell her shares in the Chateau Miraval property and winemaking ventures that they purchased in 2008. He filed the lawsuit in 2022, claiming that the sale was done to "inflict harm" on him amid their divorce.
