Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt divorced in 2016 after being one of Hollywood's most recognizable couples, earning the nickname "Brangelina." It wasn't until a year later in 2017 when Jolie opened up about the split, eventually opening up about some domestic abuse claims she allegedly faced at the hands of her ex. Their divorce saga has just come to another shocking turn, this time with the actress now claiming to have “proof and authority in support” of the alleged violence. She's even ready to provide that evidence during their upcoming divorce proceedings.
According to legal documents obtained by Us Weekly, a filing submitted on March 12th states that Jolie is willing to testify about the alleged abuse along with testimony provided by herself and her 6 children: Maddox, 19; Pax, 17; Zahara, 16; Shiloh, 14; and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. The documents themselves do not detail the alleged abuse, but a source close to Pitt has dismissed the claims as nothing more than another attempt to kick the Oscar winner while he's already down.
“Over the past four and a half years there have been a number of claims made by Angelina that have been reviewed and not substantiated,” the insider told Us. “The children have been used by Angelina to hurt Brad before and this is more of that behavior. This leaking of documents by her fourth or fifth set of lawyers has been done to hurt Brad.”
Shortly after their 2016 split, the FBI Department of Child and Family Services began investigating the actor regarding the child abuse claims made by Jolie. The agency eventually cleared the actor of all charges, and he spoke about the experience during his 2017 GQ cover story.
“I was really on my back and chained to a system when Child Services was called. And you know, after that, we’ve been able to work together to sort this out,” he said. “We’re both doing our best. I heard one lawyer say, ‘No one wins in court—it’s just a matter of who gets hurt worse.'"
He continued, "And it seems to be true, you spend a year just focused on building a case to prove your point and why you’re right and why they’re wrong, and it’s just an investment in vitriolic hatred. I just refuse. And fortunately my partner in this agrees. It’s just very, very jarring for the kids, to suddenly have their family ripped apart.”
Pitt is reportedly looking for 50/50 custody of the children.
[via]