Angelina Jolie Claims 2016 Plane Incident Was Not Brad Pitt's First Physical Abuse
By Afouda Bamidele on April 5, 2024 at 8:05 AM EDT
The once-beloved Brangelina couple's dispute over their French winery, Château Miraval, continues with Angelina Jolie sharing bombshell claims about Brad Pitt.
According to new court documents, the "Maleficent" star alleged her ex-husband had been physically abusive towards her long before the infamous 2016 plane incident that led to her filing for divorce.
Angelina Jolie's Legal Team Slams Brad Pitt With New Allegations
In the legal filing, Jolie's legal team unveiled Pitt's allegedly dark past in an attempt to release communications that would prove the 60-year-old had refused to allow his ex-wife to sell her portion of their Chateau Miraval French winery.
According to the actress' lawyers, Pitt was against the sale of her shares unless she signed an "onerous" and "expansive" NDA. Therefore, they decided to open up about his alleged abusive past, claiming:
"While Pitt's history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family's September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles, this flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him."
The documents, obtained by PageSix, explained that Pitt's NDA stipulated that Jolie would cover his "personal misconduct, whether related to Miraval or not." The actress's lawyers claimed this was an attempt to prevent her from speaking on his alleged abuse.
Pitt Allegedly Wanted To Silence Jolie
The allegations against Pitt continued in the filing, with Jolie's legal team alleging that he tried to "contractually bind herself" to silence after he discovered she had incriminating evidence against him.
In 2021, Pitt found out that Jolie had submitted a sealed filing, consisting of "emails, summaries of the family's expected testimony and other evidence" to help settle their child custody dispute.
Before discovering the evidence, Pitt had agreed to purchase Jolie's shares of the French winery. However, he allegedly backed out as he feared his ex's sealed documents "could eventually become public," the actress's legal team claimed.
Jolie's attorney, Paul Murphy, doubled down on these allegations in a statement, stressing that "Mr. Pitt refused to purchase Ms. Jolie's interest when she would not be silenced by his NDA."
He also referenced Pitt's 2022 lawsuit against Jolie for selling her shares of the winery to another party, saying:
"By refusing to buy her interest but then suing her, Mr. Pitt put directly at issue why that NDA was so important to him and what he hoped it would bury: his abuse of Ms. Jolie and their family."
Why Jolie Didn't Reveal Pitt's Alleged Abuse
Despite claims that Jolie had suffered from Pitt's alleged abuse before the 2016 plane incident, she stayed silent. According to the legal documents, she chose to let her ex-husband pay for his crimes outside the law.
Jolie "never pressed charges" against Pitt because "she believed the best course was for Pitt to accept responsibility and help the family recover from the post-traumatic stress he caused," her legal team claimed.
However, a source for the "World War Z" actor shared a different narrative. They slammed Jolie as a fabricator of the truth, claiming she "continually tries to distract from legal losses by offering irrelevant or inaccurate information" in court filings. In their words:
"There's a pattern that every time she loses, she continues to come back to this… there's nothing new here."
Jolie Previously Accused Pitt Of 'Looting' Their Winery's Proceeds
The former couple's legal dispute over the Château Miraval vineyard has been ongoing since Pitt and Jolie's highly publicized split in 2016. They purchased the vineyard in 2011, and it became one of their most significant joint assets in a 50/50 partnership with winemaker Marc Perrin.
However, Jolie's lawyers portrayed Pitt as a "petulant child" in 2023 for allegedly "looting" and squandering the vineyard's profits on vanity projects instead of adequately managing the asset.
The 60-year-old actor was accused of blatant disregard for the former couple's business and slammed for dressing himself as a winemaker. Instead, Jolie's legal team claimed he dealt "in illusions, not dirt and grapes."
Brad Pitt's Team Claimed Angelina Jolie Wanted The NDA
While Jolie's corner claimed Pitt agreed to buy her winery shares if she signed an NDA, the actor's team shared a different narrative. According to his representatives, the non-disclosure agreement was his ex-wife's idea.
They claimed the actress opted out of the sale and went behind Pitt's back to sell her shares to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler. This move blindsided her former husband, who claimed he learned about it through a 2021 press release.
According to Pitt, his ex-wife "secretly" sold her stakes in the winery to "severely damage" him and "enrich herself" as a way of getting back at him.
He also stressed that she had breached the terms of their "mutual and binding commitment" not to sell the property without the other's permission.