Hollywood star Angelina Jolie wants to end the lengthy legal battle with ex-husband Brad Pitt over their French winery so their family can start ‘healing’.
Angelina, 49, filed to divorce Brad, 60, following an incident on a plane in 2016 which has since led to their children – Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and Knox and Vivienne, 16 – distancing themselves from their father.
As part of the proceedings, in October 2021, the Maleficent star sold her half of their shared winery, known as Château Miraval, for $67million (£51million) after verbal discussions fell through.
According to Brad, he offered to buy her out of the business.
But, the award-winning actor has claimed she refused after the agreement involved signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) which would have bound her to silence on his ‘personal misconduct and abuse’, according to reports.
As the legal battle rages on, Angelina’s lawyer, Paul Murphy, has issued a new statement to People.
Paul described the Fight Club actor’s offer as ‘trying to punish and control Angelina by demanding a newly expanded NDA to cover his personal misconduct and abuse.’
He added: ‘Those actions are central to these proceedings. We are not at all surprised Mr. Pitt is afraid to turn over the documents demonstrating these facts.
‘While Angelina again asks Mr. Pitt to end the fighting and finally put their family on a clear path toward healing, unless Mr. Pitt withdraws his lawsuit, Angelina has no choice but to obtain the evidence necessary to prove his allegations wrong.’
Prior to her latest plea, Angelina’s legal team had requested all third-party communications made by Brad after the 2016 incident be handed over but this was slammed as ‘intrusive’ and a ‘sensationalist fishing expedition’ by Brad’s team.
A recent court filing by Brad’s lawyers obtained by the publication claimed the formal request dealt with ‘sensitive issues’ such as the therapy he undertook after the plane ride to ‘better himself’.
In May, Angelina was ordered to turn over eight years worth of non-disclosure agreements relating to her winery dispute.
At the time Paul said they were ‘more than happy to turn [the past NDA’s] over.’
He continued: ‘Common NDAs are simply not comparable to Mr. Pitt’s last-second demand to try and cover up his personal misconduct.
Paul believes the ruling will ‘open the door to discovery on all issues related to Pitt’s abuse’ and he ‘welcomes transparency’.
‘Angelina looks forward to the eventual end of this litigation with its false narratives that continue to hurt the family and interfere with their ability to heal,’ he concluded.
Meanwhile, sources from Brad’s team reportedly told Page Six the latest ruling was a ‘crushing blow’ although Angelina’s side has also previously argued in court papers that turning over her previous NDAs as part of the case would be ‘expensive’, ‘wasteful,’ ‘unreasonable’ and even ‘abusive’.
The ongoing legal troubles take place against the backdrop of Brad’s children further distancing themselves.
In May, Shiloh petitioned to have her father’s last name dropped after her 18th birthday with hopes of changing it to Jolie, according to TMZ. It comes as daughter Vivienne dropped her dad’s name on the playbill for her show The Outsiders.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to representatives for Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie for comment.