Angelina Jolie sued ex-husband Brad Pittin which public court records describe his first-time abuse of her and their children that she says led to their divorce.
In a legal dispute over a winery they once owned together, Jolie in a counter-charge filed Tuesday details an altercation in 2016 on a private plane, where she says Pitt “choked one of the kids” and “smacking another in the face.” while she verbally attacked them. “Pitt grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her, grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her against the bathroom wall,” the complaint reads.
The lawsuit alleges that Pitt attempted to force Jolie to sign a nondisclosure agreement that would have “contractually prohibited her from speaking out of court about Pitt’s physical and emotional abuse of her and their children.”
Lawyers and representatives for Pitt did not respond to requests for comment.
The allegations are the latest wrinkle in a legal battle filed by Pitt over control of French winery Château Miraval, which he and Jolie bought in 2012. permission from the other.
Jolie says Pitt’s aggressive behavior started before the family arrived at the airport, with Pitt confronting one of their children. When Jolie asked him what was going on, he “verbally attacked her” for being too deferential.
When one of the children defended Jolie, a physical altercation ensued.
“Pitt lunged at his own child and Jolie grabbed him from behind to stop him,” the indictment said. “To get Jolie off his back, Pitt threw himself back into the seats of the plane, injuring Jolie’s back and elbow. The kids rushed in and all tried to protect each other bravely.”
At one point, Pitt poured beer on Jolie; in another, he poured beer and wine over the children, the charges allege.
Once the flight landed, Pitt yelled at Jolie and pushed him down when she told him she and the kids were going to a hotel, according to the complaint. “He also grabbed and shook Jolie by the head and shoulders, causing one of the children to beg, ‘Don’t hurt her,'” the indictment reads. “He let Jolie go, but then called her a ‘bitch,’ before adding, ‘Fuck you, fuck you all.'”
Jolie filed for divorce five days later.
The FBI launched an investigation into the incident but declined to press charges. A redacted report on the case leaked in August states that the investigating officer found that there was likely cause to pursue a criminal case, but the charges would not be filed because of “multiple factors,” according to The New York Times. It described Jolie as “conflicted about whether or not to support the charge.”
Jolie says she began to seek a more active role in the winery when she realized that most of her assets were locked up at Chateau Miraval after the divorce, but that Pitt essentially froze her out of the business. He is said to have cut her off from receiving information about the finances and reinvested all his profits into the winery and his own projects without her permission.
She resigned because Pitt wouldn’t share control of the winery and felt increasingly uncomfortable joining an alcohol-related business, given the impact of “Pitt’s acknowledged problem of alcohol abuse on their family,” Jolie decided to sell her stake in the business. .
The two sides reportedly reached a $54.5 million deal for Pitt to buy out her stake, but negotiations broke down when Jolie alleged in closed court proceedings in their custody case that Pitt had abused her and their children. He later returned, demanding that Jolie be “bound by a broad non-disparaging clause that would prohibit Jolie from discussing Pitt’s personal conduct toward her or the family out of court.”
“Beyond the traumatic breakup of their family and the years they spent trying to heal their family – during which time she never spoke publicly about the events leading up to their divorce – Jolie could no longer be abused. the indictment states. “In an effort to maintain her own sanity and well-being, Jolie decided to turn the negotiations over to her designated representatives and let them decide how best to complete a sale.”
Jolie’s representatives sold her 50 percent stake in the winery to a subsidiary of Stoli Group, an international beverage company, for $67 million.
Jolie was seeking information about the FBI’s decision not to press charges under the Freedom of Information Act. The US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, which covers Los Angeles, declined to comment.
In 2016, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services acquitted Pitt in an investigation into alleged child abuse.