Questions surround the decision to unseal the documents.
While celebrity breakups are somewhat to be expected these days, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s split shocked fans around the world, with the Girl, Interrupted actress filing for divorce after two years of marriage to her Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star in 2016. And although Pitt and Jolie were declared “legally single” by a judge in 2019, their divorce has yet to be settled — and the two are currently embroiled in a custody battle over their children.
This year has been a contentious one for the former spouses, after Pitt sued Jolie over her decision to sell the winery where they got married, which Pitt partly owns. Back in August, unsealed documents about the couple’s 2016 altercation made tensions flare once again. Now, a cross-complaint filed by Jolie in the winery battle is exposing even more disturbing details about that alleged altercation.
What’s the backstory on Pitt and Jolie’s split?
As if the news that Pitt and Jolie were divorcing after 12 years together didn’t come as enough of a surprise to the public, an even bigger bombshell dropped when, shortly after their separation was announced, reports broke that Pitt was being investigated for child abuse. The allegations stemmed from a 2016 incident when the couple and their children were traveling on their private jet to Los Angeles, which Jolie alleged turned physical and involved the couple’s son Maddox.
At the time, reports stated that the then-15-year-old got in the middle of a fight between his parents, and that Pitt had been drinking. The Department of Child and Family Services launched an investigation in 2016 and ultimately cleared Pitt of the allegations. Eleven days later, the FBI closed its inquiry and declined to file charges. Pitt told GQ in June 2022 that he got sober after Jolie filed for divorce.
What was revealed in the FBI report?
New details of the altercation were been brought to light as the result of a lawsuit filed against the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act by a Jane Doe — who was revealed in August 2022 to be Jolie herself. According to the filing, Pitt “allegedly physically and verbally assaulted [Jolie] and the children” and they have “experienced lasting physical and mental trauma as a result of the assault.”
The FBI report says the two exchanged (figurative) jabs over each other’s parenting skills, and things only got worse from there. The documents allege that after one of the couple’s children, presumably Maddox, called Pitt a “prick,” Jolie had to hold Pitt back from charging at him, which resulted in her sustaining elbow injuries. Pitt allegedly “grabbed her by the head, shaking her, followed by grabbing her at the shoulders and shaking her.” He then punched the ceiling of the plane multiple times and, later on, spilled wine on a chair and beer on Jolie, causing $25,000 worth of damages.
Jolie submitted photos of her injuries, but the FBI said that all parties ultimately decided not to pursue criminal charges. Pitt has denied wrongdoing, but a source close to him told PEOPLE that the FOIA suit is a measure by Jolie meant “to inflict the most amount of pain on her ex.”
Why did Jolie sue to get those records?
Though Jolie is, of course, intimately involved in this situation, her suit says she took these legal measures so she could better understand the FBI’s investigation and receive access to “information necessary for her children to receive medical care and trauma counseling.”
Sources familiar with the case told NBC that both Pitt and Jolie were already given access to this same report back in 2016, indicating that the lawsuit is a strategy designed to release the details of the report out to the public. However, an attorney for Jolie said in April that her client was “seeking such records for years, but has been stonewalled and has had to resort to court action to receive needed records.”
What new information was revealed in the recent court filing?
Two months after the new details revealed in the FBI report, Jolie’s cross-complaint, filed in Los Angeles, has even more upsetting information about what allegedly occurred on that flight. Although the ex-spouses were in negotiations for Jolie to sell Pitt her share of the winery, those broke down because, her lawyers said, Pitt wanted her to 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.” The filing also contains previously unreported allegations of physical abuse on the flight” it states, “Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face” and alleges he “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her.” It also alleges that, in addition to pouring beer on Jolie, he poured wine on the children.
What’s next?
Pitt and Jolie continue to fight for custody of their children after a California appeals court sided with Jolie last July, when she claimed that the private judge ruling on their custody dispute had committed an ethical breach by not disclosing his business relationships with Pitt’s attorneys. The actors can decide to choose another private judge to weigh in or settle their case in family court (which would make the proceedings public). Though a judge had previously awarded temporary joint custody to Pitt, the 5-year custody battle may now have to start from scratch.
Meanwhile, the battle over Château Miraval continues. Last month, Jolie’s former company, which is now owned by Stoli group, countersued, denying that her sale of the company constituted a hostile takeover or violated his contractual rights. While, in his original suit, Pitt claimed the ex-spouses had an understanding to not sell their share of the winery without informing the other, Jolie claimed no such agreement existed.
