The Hollywood star Brad Pitt is begging a judge to intervene in his latest court battle with his ex-wife and fellow Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie.
Pitt Calls On Judge To Take Action
Pitt, 61, has accused Jolie, 50, of “persistent misdirection” in their court battle. He is asking a judge to shut down her latest demand that he pay her $33,000.
In court documents that were filed on Monday, Pitt also called on the judge to force Jolie to hand over a series of private emails she has refused to produce so far. Pitt is specifically referring to emails that Jolie exchanged with her business manager, Terry Bird, her British publicists, Chloe Dalton and Arminka Helic, and two financial consultants.
In court documents obtained by US Weekly, Pitt claimed that Jolie admitted in her own declaration that it was “her routine practice to engage in lengthy conversations with her non-attorney business manager Terry Bird about ‘essentially all aspects of [her] business and professional life.” This included discussions about “‘legal advice and proposed strategy’ at issue.’”
“What Jolie is describing here are brainstorming sessions between non-lawyers,” he continued. “The fact that these brainstorming sessions may have followed or preceded advice from a lawyer on the same general topic or a related topic does not shield them from [being turned over].”
Pitt Rips Into Jolie
Jolie has argued that the emails are indeed covered under attorney-client privilege. That’s why she claims she is under no obligation to hand over the emails her ex-husband wants.
Pitt, however, is not having any of this. According to him, Jolie “has categorically withheld such communications.” This included “the entirety of all but one of Bird’s internal communications discussing the terms of the sale of her interest in Chateau Miraval to the [third party], the key transaction at issue in this litigation.”
As for the emails between Jolie and her publicists, Pitt pointed out that no lawyers were copied on them. He alleged that Jolie has never revealed why the help of “British image consultants was reasonably necessary to receive legal advice regarding the sale of the French home and winery she owned” with Pitt.
Pitt and Jolie have been battling it out in court over this French winery for over three years. According to Pitt, during that time, Jolie “has still produced only one internal email that even mentions the terms of the sale at the center of this case.” Indeed, he firmly believes that tons of emails are missing.
Pitt went on to say that Jolie has complained in the past about him calling on her to voluntarily submit the emails for an in-person review in court.
“It is odd that Jolie has declined to do so, given that it would presumably be the easiest way to meet her burden to show that she has redacted only privileged legal advice,” Pitt lamented.
Jolie Responds
Jolie has since fired back through her attorney Paul Murphy.
“Mr. Pitt’s reply brief does not address our arguments and continues to rely on conjecture and speculation. All for the purpose of invading her privileged communications with her lawyers,” Murphy said. “This once again confirms that this lawsuit is the manifestation of Mr. Pitt’s years-long effort to harass and control Angelina. We look forward to the upcoming hearing.”
Earlier this month, Jolie filed a declaration in which she highlighted her refusal to turn over the emails.
“Jolie, through counsel, repeatedly asked Pitt to withdraw [the motion]. She even warned him numerous times that if the Court denied Pitt’s motion, Jolie would ask the Court to order Pitt to pay Jolie’s attorneys’ fees opposing the motion,” her lawyer wrote in the October 6 document. “Pitt still refused to withdraw it. Jolie thus requests that the Court order Pitt to reimburse her for the substantial attorneys’ fees she was forced to incur.”
At the time, Jolie complained that her divorce from Pitt was hard on her and their six children.
“Miraval was one of the first major investments we made together. And it was a focal point of our family life. We were married there. I spent part of my pregnancy there. And I brought our twin children home there from the hospital,” she stated. “To have such a sudden break from my home and memories has been hard. And it was especially difficult for the children to have their lives so disrupted.”
Pitt And Jolie’s History
Pitt and Jolie met on the set of the 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith. At the time, Pitt was still married to the former Friends star Jennifer Aniston. They soon split and he immediately began dating Jolie.
Pitt and Jolie went on to marry in 2014 in a ceremony at their winery in rural France. Jolie then filed for divorce just over two years later. Jolie filed for divorce days after an alleged altercation on a private jet flight. There, Jolie alleges that Pitt was abusive to her and their six children.
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016. However, it wasn’t until December of 2024 that the divorce was actually finalized. Unfortunately, their court battles are still not over as they continue fighting it out over their French winery.
This has clearly been an extremely messy situation for everyone involved. Here’s hoping that Pitt and Jolie can come to some kind of solution so they can each put this behind them and move on with their lives!