Angelina Jolie, through her legal representatives, has made serious allegations against her ex-husband Brad Pitt, claiming he was abusive towards her and their children before the infamous 2016 plane confrontation that led to their divorce.
PEOPLE Magazine reported that Jolie’s legal team, in a filing, stated that Pitt’s alleged history of physical abuse started well before the family’s September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles. According to her lawyers, “[t]his flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well,” leading Jolie to immediately leave him.
The filing continued, asserting that Jolie never pressed charges as she believed the best course was for Pitt to accept responsibility and help the family recover from the alleged post-traumatic stress he caused.
In court papers cited by various American media outlets, including The New York Times, Jolie accused Pitt of choking one child and striking another in the face during the plane incident. Pitt allegedly also grabbed Jolie by the head, shook her, and poured beer on her, as well as on the children.
The confrontation reportedly began in the plane’s bathroom, with Pitt criticizing Jolie for being “too deferential” to their children. Variety, citing Jolie’s lawsuit, reported that Pitt then grabbed Jolie by the head, shook her, pushed her into the bathroom wall, and later lunged at one of their children.
Jolie filed for divorce shortly after the incident.
Furthermore, Jolie’s legal team has filed a motion seeking to release communications supposedly proving that Pitt wouldn’t allow her to sell her share of their winery to him without agreeing to what they describe as a “more onerous” and “expansive” non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
In response, Pitt had sued Jolie in June 2023 for allegedly selling her portion of their shared winery without consulting him. Pitt’s lawsuit claims the sale was “unlawful” due to breaches of their contractual agreements.
The couple, who got together after starring in the 2005 movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, share six children. They were declared legally single in 2019, three years after Jolie filed for divorce.
Pitt’s representative declined to comment to PEOPLE, but a friend of his told the publication that Jolie’s legal team consistently introduces misleading or irrelevant information.