The actress calls for a truce amid her accusations that Pitt was abusive
Angelina Jolie is urging ex-husband Brad Pitt to drop the contentious lawsuit over their winery, Château Miraval, in order that their family can start “healing”.
Pitt sued Jolie in 2022 for selling her stake in their French winery, to Stoli, a company owned by a Russian oligarch, without his consent.
The actor argued that he and Jolie intended for their six children to inherit the winery and that the sale to Stoli, completed by Jolie in October 2021 for $67million, was a hostile takeover. He’s seeking to reverse his ex’s sale of her shares.
The Maleficent actress has denied wrongdoing, stating she was not required to have Pitt’s approval.
Jolie, 49, filed for divorce from Pitt, 60, after a 2016 plane incident, leading to a major family rift, which has seen four of their six children, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne and Pax distance themselves from their father.
In May, Shiloh petitioned to drop her father’s last name after her 18th birthday, intending to change it to Jolie. Similarly, daughter Vivienne dropped Pitt’s name from the playbill of her show “The Outsiders” while Zahara introduced herself as Zahara Jolie during a University inauguration ceremony.
Pax, meanwhile, referred to his actor father as a “world-class a**hole” in a social media post.
The former couple also share sons Maddox and Knox.
Pitt claims he offered to buy Jolie out of her part of the winery, but she refused due to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that would have prevented her from discussing his “personal misconduct and abuse.”
Jolie’s lawyer, Paul Murphy, described Pitt’s offer as an attempt to “punish and control” her by demanding an expanded NDA. He stated, “We are not at all surprised Mr. Pitt is afraid to turn over the documents demonstrating these facts.”
Murphy added, “While Angelina again asks Mr. Pitt to end the fighting and finally put their family on a clear path toward healing, unless Mr. Pitt withdraws his lawsuit, Angelina has no choice but to obtain the evidence necessary to prove his allegations wrong.”
Previously, Jolie’s legal team requested all third-party communications made by Pitt after the 2016 incident. Pitt’s team labelled this request as “intrusive” and a “sensationalist fishing expedition.”
Pitt’s lawyers claimed the request dealt with “sensitive issues” such as the therapy he underwent after the plane incident to “better himself.”
In May, a court ordered Jolie to turn over eight years’ worth of NDAs related to the winery dispute.
Murphy stated they were “more than happy to turn [the past NDAs] over,” noting that common NDAs are not comparable to Pitt’s “last-second demand to try and cover up his personal misconduct.”
He believes the ruling will “open the door to discovery on all issues related to Pitt’s abuse” and welcomes transparency.
“Angelina looks forward to the eventual end of this litigation with its false narratives that continue to hurt the family and interfere with their ability to heal,” he added.
Sources from Pitt’s team described the latest ruling as a “crushing blow.” However, Jolie’s side had previously argued that turning over past NDAs would be “expensive,” “wasteful,” “unreasonable,” and “abusive.”