Brad Pitt Left 'Hurt' By Daughter Shiloh's Decision To Drop His Name: 'He Knew This Was Coming'

Brad Pitt is reportedly heartbroken over his daughter Shiloh Jolie's decision to drop his last name.

The "Bullet Train" star had anticipated this outcome when she filed the petition shortly after turning 18, but now that the court has granted her request, it has hit him particularly hard.

Despite the name change, Brad Pitt is still hopeful that his strained relationship with the 18-year-old and his other children will improve after his long-running court battle with their mother, Angelina Jolie, is resolved.

Three months after Shiloh filed for a name change, the court granted the petition, permanently resolving the 18-year-old's desire to stop using her father's name.

While watching all of this unfold has deeply "hurt" Pitt, he wasn't entirely blindsided by the decision. However, he feels a sense of powerlessness, knowing that he can do nothing to change Shiloh's choice.

"He knew this was coming, and there is nothing he can do about it right now," an insider told the Daily Mail about the Hollywood star.

According to the source, Pitt still loves Shiloh and all his children and has come to accept that his estrangement from them is now a "way of life."

"He respects Shiloh's decision. He loves her, and no matter what happens, he is always only a phone call away," added the insider. "He will be there for Shiloh and any of his kids whenever they need, no questions asked."

Pitt shares Shiloh and five other children, Maddox, Pax, Knox, Zahara, and Vivienne, with his ex-wife Jolie.

The two, who once co-starred in the popular film, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," have been involved in multiple court battles over custody arrangements and property division since their divorce.

Pitt feels that these issues have dimmed the chances of mending his relationship with Shiloh and his other biological children, Vivienne and Knox.

However, he still holds out hope that "after all the dust has settled" with the legal battles, he might have a "fair shot" at being a part of their lives again.

A source said about the actor, "He knows that, with some of the other kids who are not biologically his children, they do not understand and may never allow him back into their lives."

"But Brad truly feels that with Shiloh, as well as Vivienne and Knox, that when this divorce is over, and the lawsuits are far behind them they will take a good look in the mirror and realize that their father is a part of them," the source added.

When Shiloh filed the petition to change her name, sources close to her parent linked the decision to her parent's custody battle.

Shiloh and her siblings were stopped from testifying despite their mother, Jolie, petitioning the court to allow it. The young actor was said to have been hurt by the court's decision and seemingly blames her father.

"The name change goes back to the custody battle, and Shiloh's belief that her rights as a victim were violated, said an insider, per the Daily Mail.

They added, "Shiloh believed she had the right, as a victim of crime, to testify — and was prevented from doing so."

Last month, Shiloh's lawyer gave some insight into her decision to drop her father's name.

The teenager's lawyer, Peter Levine, told People Magazine in an interview that Shiloh chose to make the petition "following painful events."

However, for those who may have believed that Jolie influenced her daughter to make the change, that seems not to be the case.

"The media should be more careful in their reporting," Levine told the news outlet. "Especially when covering a young adult who has made an independent and significant decision following painful events and is merely following legal process."

Apart from Shiloh, some of the other kids have taken steps to renounce Pitt's name publicly.

In May, the ex-couple's youngest child, Vivienne, boldly took off Pitt from her name on the credit of the playbill for the Broadway musical "The Outsiders."

In November 2023, Shiloh's older sister, Zahara, reportedly introduced herself as "Zahara Marley Jolie" for a Spelman College sorority initiation ceremony.

A source who spoke about the deterioration in the relationship between Pitt and his kids shared that they have "struggled to forgive and connect" with him since the divorce.

The insider added, per US Weekly, "Their mom is the head of the household, and she's raised them with love and selflessness their whole lives. Once Brad left, it was very hard for them to see him go to war with her."