Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt pictured at City Cinemas in New York City in November 2015. Photo / Getty Images
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt pictured at City Cinemas in New York City in November 2015. Photo / Getty Images
Warning: This article contains distressing content.
Brad Pitt has been ordered by a judge to turn over key communications and documents amid his legal battle with ex-wife Angelina Jolie, who claims the Fight Club actor had a history of abuse against her and their children.
It’s a startling development in the ex-power couple’s most recent legal battles, which began over the future of their French vineyard - the Chateau Miraval estate - after Jolie sold her stake in the property in 2022.
According to Daily Mail, Pitt, 60, now must provide the court with communications that he’d sent between September 14, 2016, and December 31, 2018, excluding those between his lawyers and therapists, that relate to a 2016 travel incident.
In an FBI report obtained by People, Jolie alleged the actor smacked the plane ceiling and pushed her, leaving her and the children “shell-shocked”.
During the incident, which took place before the pair separated, Pitt allegedly “poured beer over” her, and Jolie recalled putting him in a choke-hold position after he looked “like he was going to attack” one of their children for calling him a “prick”.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were together for 12 years, two of those married, before splitting in September 2016. Photo / Getty Images
Jolie added she felt “like a hostage” on the flight, saying she was “frozen, scared and didn’t know what to do” as Pitt acted like a “monster”.
The Bullet Train actor has denied the claims made against him by his ex-partner of 12 years.
Jolie has said in legal filings that Pitt has a “history of physical abuse” that began “well before” the alleged incident took place in the air.
The judge granted the Maleficent actress’ request for Pitt’s communications, which stemmed from a court proceeding earlier this year where Jolie claimed Pitt tried to hide “years of abuse” by trying to get her to sign a multimillion-dollar NDA.
Paul Murphy, who represents Jolie legally, told People on July 17 that Pitt “tried to punish and control Angelina by demanding a newly expanded NDA to cover his personal misconduct and abuse”.
Amid that battle, Jolie’s attorneys asked the court to force Pitt to relay “private, third-party communications” relating to the 2016 plane incident, which led to the couple’s separation.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lia Martin granted the request in a ruling last week, with Jolie’s lawyers arguing the documents would show the NDA request wasn’t fabricated.
Angelina Jolie with her and Brad Pitt's son Knox at the 2024 Governors Awards on November 17. Photo / Getty Images
Jolie claims signing the NDA would have removed her right to speak out against Pitt’s alleged abuse, and says the documents Pitt must disclose will show “communications concerning abuse, lies to authorities, and years of cover-up”.
Pitt’s lawyers called the “irrelevant” ruling a “sensationalist fishing expedition”. They claimed the probe to be “wide-ranging and intrusive”, given the actor had passed on “so much information already”.
Jolie’s legal team countered Pitt’s argument, labelling the documents “crucial evidence” that Pitt “fought for years to hide”.
Murphy claimed Pitt’s “actions harmed Angelina and their children and are central to this case” in a statement, reported the Daily Mail.
“But I want to again emphasise that Angelina never wanted any of this. She never pressed charges, she left all their properties, and she is the one who tried to sell him the business in the first place,” the statement read.
“To this day, Mr Pitt has never been held accountable for his actions and has at all times controlled Miraval and the winery, yet he still demands more.
“She wants this to end, the children want this to end, and Mr Pitt should focus on healing their family, not pursuing lawsuits,” Murphy added.
