Introduction
Angelina Jolie has filed a lawsuit against actor Brad Pitt, accusing him of physical abuse and emotional neglect throughout their marriage. The Maleficent star is seeking sole custody of the couple’s six children that they have, saying that “given [Pitt’s] behavior” she has no choice but to seek sole custody. The court documents do not go into detail about the alleged abuse or neglect, but they do say that Pitt was allegedly drunk when he met with their eldest son Maddox in September 2016. It also claims that he became angry when an adviser suggested some joint decisions were needed with his wife after her publicist announced they had split in January 2017. According to the filing obtained by the Times, Jolie’s attempts to sell her share of Château Miraval to Pitt fell through after Pitt demanded she sign “a nondisclosure agreement that would have contractually prohibited her from speaking outside of court about Pitt’s physical and emotional abuse of her and their children.” Jolie’s recent statement revealed the couple’s claimed confrontation on a plane flight on September 14, 2016, which led to Jolie filing for divorce from Pitt days later, on September 20, 2016.
According to the New York Times, the incident started when Pitt accused her of being “too submissive” to their children and then yelled at her in the bathroom. Pitt’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment from the New York Times. Following the reported occurrence, the FBI conducted an investigation on Pitt for child abuse and eventually cleared Pitt of all charges in November 2016. While Pitt did not issue a comment addressing his purported wrongdoing, a source close to Pitt told People on September 22, 2016, “He takes the subject extremely seriously and swears he did not perpetrate any abuse of his children.” Sadly, those involved are still painting him in the worst possible light.”
Angelina Jolie Accuses Brad Pitt of Physical Abuse
In the countersuit, Jolie claims that Pitt was abusive. She is seeking sole custody of their six children, who are 17 months old to 10 years old.
In a declaration filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Jolie says she “was subjected to physical abuse and emotional neglect during the marriage by [Pitt].”
The documents state that the couple’s separation occurred after she filed for divorce from him on May 23 this year following a 12-year marriage that produced three children together – Maddox Chivan (11), Pax Thien (10), and Zahara Marley (8).
Jolie is Seeking sole Custody of the Couple’s Six Children
In a countersuit, Jolie is seeking sole custody of the couple’s six children, saying that “given Pitt’s behavior” she has no choice but to seek sole custody.
She also claims that Pitt failed to pay child support for their two oldest kids – Maddox and Pax Thien – and was abusive toward her during their marriage.
Few Details are Provided in the Court Documents, with Jolie Claiming in a Declaration
The few details provided in the court documents are chilling. Jolie claims that Pitt sprayed her with a fire extinguisher and threw objects at her during arguments over custody of their children. She also alleges that he hit her with a closed fist or elbow repeatedly in front of their children at home or on set.
“Scared her to Death.”
Jolie said that the time it took for Pitt to get clean and sober after his first meeting with their eldest child, Maddox, “scared her to death.”
“When Brad’s drinking was in full swing, he became physically abusive toward me,” she added. “It was scary and humiliating.”
Jolie said she felt like an object or trophy when they were filming the military drama “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” in 2005 because of how much attention Pitt paid her while they were making the movie together. She claimed that he would have sex with other women on set and even tried to seduce one of them into having sex with him so that Angie wouldn’t find out about it until after shooting had wrapped up for the day and then suggested she leave if she wanted privacy from him during their private moments as well!
The Maleficent star claims in documents filed on Tuesday that around September 2016, when the couple was trying to negotiate the terms of their divorce, Pitt was angry and drunk around their children.
The filing also says Jolie told her lawyer she feared for her safety if she stayed with him. She also alleges that he threatened to commit suicide if she left him.
The actor accused his estranged wife of using their kids as pawns
In the countersuit, Brad Pitt accused his estranged wife of using their children as pawns.
Brad says that Angelina was using their kids as pawns in the divorce. He says that she wanted to get rid of him and then use their kids as leverage against him in negotiations for custody or visitation rights.
According to Brad, Angelina had been threatening for months before filing for divorce that if he didn’t give her what she wanted then she would take away custody of their kids from him forever.
Conclusion
The countersuit was filed in response to a lawsuit that Pitt fired back in June. According to the documents, Brad and Angelina had been planning on divorcing, but after filing for divorce under California law they got married in September.
The court filing claims that “the marriage has broken down irretrievably,” and that their separation is legal because it occurred before the couple entered into their prenuptial agreement. The pair tried to work out their issues privately for months before taking legal action against each other this summer an act which has since resulted in a costly legal battle that could determine custody arrangements for their children as well as financial settlements between them.”
