FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2015 file photo, Angelina Jolie, left, and Brad Pitt arrive at the 2015 AFI Fest opening night premiere of "By The Sea" in Los Angeles.
Angelina Jolie tried to turn her children against Brad Pitt, their former security guard has claimed.
The former couple - who are parents to Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, and 15-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox - separated in September 2016 and in the latest court documents in their long-running dispute over the Miraval winery they once owned together, the Bullet Train actor’s lawyers have alleged ex-employee Tony Webb was told the Maleficent star had instructed the kids not to speak to their father during custody visits.
The paperwork also claimed Jolie, 48, attempted to use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to threaten her security team to stay silent.
Falklands veteran Webb - who headed up his own firm, SRS Security - “was the head of Jolie’s security detail for two decades, and he remained in that role for approximately four years after the couple divorced” and claimed the actress “required him and his contractors to sign NDAs relating to various personal and professional details of her, and her family’s, life.”
According to the documents, after Pitt and Jolie divorced, the security boss was called by the actress’ personal assistant, Michael Vierra, who said he had heard two contractors were preparing to give evidence in a family court case.
He said: “Mr Vierra then told me that his call should serve as a reminder that those individuals had entered into non-disclosure agreements with Ms Jolie and that I should remind them of that, and if they testified in the family law case, Ms Jolie would sue them.”
But one contractor, Ross Foster - who had worked security on Pitt and Jolie’s 2015 film By The Sea - pledged to testify if he was subpoenaed by the court, regardless of the NDA.
Webb continued: “When Mr Foster told me this, he also told me that if asked, he would testify about statements he overheard that Ms Jolie made to the children, encouraging them to avoid spending time with Mr Pitt during custody visits.”
Webb claimed his company was fired by Jolie after two employees testified, and he now works for Pitt.
John Berlinski, the 60-year-old actor’s lawyer, has accused the Eternals actress of using NDAs in an “improper manner” to “silence her security detail and prevent them testifying truthfully in court about what actually happened behind closed doors”.
He added the claims “bear a striking resemblance to Jolie’s false allegations that Pitt improperly used a non-disclosure agreement to ‘silence her’.”
Jolie claimed in a recent motion Pitt had a “history of abuse” towards her before the notorious 2016 plane incident that led to the end of their marriage, in which the Moneyball star was accused of being drunk and aggressive during a flight from France to California.
And in response to the new claims, the actress’ lawyer, Paul Murphy, accused Pitt of trying to “cover up his deplorable actions”.
He said in a statement given to Entertainment Tonight: “Mr. Pitt’s continued attempt to equate common NDAs for security personnel and housekeepers covering confidential information employees learn at work, with him demanding an expanded NDA to ensure the continued cover up of his deplorable actions remains shameful.
“This case is not about NDAs in general, but about power and control. All Angelina has ever wanted was separation and health, with positive relationships between all members of their family, including Mr. Pitt. She looks forward to the day when he is finally able to let her go.”
The FBI previously investigated the plane incident but Pitt was not arrested or charged, and his spokesperson previously disputed his former wife’s account of the incident in her October 2022 legal documents.
His representative said at the time: “Brad has accepted responsibility for what he did but will not for things he didn’t do.”