Angelina Jolie has claimed Brad Pitt used ‘unrelenting efforts to control and financially drain’ her, while attempting to hide his ‘history of abuse’.
The Mr & Mrs Smith actors have been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle following the breakdown of their marriage in 2016 and now new papers have been submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court containing bombshell claims.
What is Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's legal battle about?
Accusations of the Bullet Train actor’s alleged abuse were first submitted in court documents in 2022 after Pitt began proceedings to sue his ex-wife over the sale of the French winery they co-owned.
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Jolie, 48, alleged that her ex-husband Pitt, 60, had exhibited violent behaviour towards her and her children onboard a private jet.
The winery, known as Château Miraval, was where the former couple tied the knot in 2014.
At the time of the lawsuit, Pitt claimed he and Jolie had agreed not to sell their shares in the winery without each other’s approval and that he would be suing both his ex-wife and former company Nouvel.
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In response to the lawsuit, filed in October 2022, the Maleficent actor claimed her former spouse had ‘grabbed’ her ‘by the head’ before ‘chok[ing] one of their children’ on a plane ride from France to California.
Pitt denied the abuse accusations and as the Château Miraval lawsuit rolls on, Jolie’s team have submitted new documents claiming that the 2016 plane incident wasn’t a one-off incident of abuse.
What do the new court documents allege?
A copy of court documents, obtained by USA Today, claims that ‘Pitt’s history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family’s plane trip’ in 2016.
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“This flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him,” reads the recent court filing.
The latest lawsuit doesn’t go into further abuse allegations, but claims Pitt is going to great lengths to keep new evidence coming to light.
As per the new documents, Jolie allegedly offered to sell her half of the winery to her ex-spouse.
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However, the Babylon star reportedly said he’d only go ahead with the sale if she signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
What did the alleged NDA prohibit Jolie from speaking about?
The filing claims this particular NDA ‘prohibited Jolie from speaking (other than in court) about Pitt’s abuse of Jolie and their children by attempting to tie Pitt’s personal reputation to Miraval’s business'.
In a statement, submitted to USA Today, Jolie’s lawyer Paul Murphy said: "By refusing to buy her interest but then suing her, Mr. Pitt put directly at issue why that NDA was so important to him and what he hoped it would bury: his abuse of Ms. Jolie and their family.”
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He also claimed Pitt has made 'unrelenting efforts to control and financially drain' Jolie, while 'attempting to hide his history of abuse, control, and coverup'.
Meanwhile, Pitt's team claim it was Jolie who wanted an 'even broader' NDA, while Pitt asked for a 'standard' NDA 'intended to protect the business'.
They added that ‘the clause also made clear that there would be no limitation on Jolie’s ability to speak in connection with Pitt and Jolie’s divorce or custody proceedings'.
Pitt’s representatives are yet to publicly respond to the new documents submitted by Jolie’s team.
UNILAD has reached out to representatives of Brad Pitt for further comment.
Topics: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Celebrity, Court