Angelina Jolie Accuses Brad Pitt Of Physical Abuse In New Court Filing

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Angelina Jolie disclosed new details about a 2016 incident with her former husband Brad Pitt in a court filing Tuesday that alleges Pitt was physically violent with Jolie and several of their children during a private plane ride in 2016, which Jolie says led to the end of the couple’s high-profile marriage.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie attend an event at Kensington Palace on May 8, 2014 in London, England. … [+]

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Key Facts

The cross complaint was filed Tuesday in a Los Angeles court as part of a civil case over control of a French winery the two owned together.

The filing, which was seen by the New York Times, described a September 2016 incident in which Pitt allegedly had a physical and verbal outburst during a private plane right from France to California, which took place just days before Jolie filed for divorce.

Jolie claims in the filing that the fight began when Pitt accused Jolie of being “too deferential” to their children, and yelled at her in the plane bathroom before shaking her and pushing her against the plane wall and punching the plane’s ceiling.

One of the couple’s children came to Jolie’s defense, according to the filing, causing Pitt to allegedly lunge at the child before striking one child in the face and choking another, and later poured beer and wine on Jolie and the children.

Jolie’s lawyer’s said in the filing that Jolie had considered selling her stake in the winery to Pitt, but that talks stalled after Pitt asked her to sign a nondisclosure agreement that would have prohibited her from speaking out about the “physical and emotional abuse of her and their children.”

Representatives for Jolie and Pitt did not immediately respond to Forbes’ requests for comment and while neither Jolie or Pitt has ever publicly addressed the incident, sources described as “close to Pitt” have been quoted in publications denying the allegations.

Key Background

Earlier this year, a heavily-redacted FBI report of the incident was released to both Jolie and Pitt’s camps through a freedom of information act request, and was later obtained by several media outlets, including CNN. According to the report, Jolie told investigators that Pitt–who was allegedly drinking aboard the flight–asked Jolie to speak privately in the back of the plane after having a “tense interaction” with one of the children, according to CNN. Pitt accused Jolie of “f*cking up this family,” and told their children that Jolie was “crazy.” Jolie’s description of the incident in the FBI report aligns with the Tuesday filing, which also alleged that the investigating FBI agent “concluded that the government had probable cause to charge Pitt with a federal crime for his conduct that day.” However, the FBI closed the investigation in November 2016 after prosecutors declined to bring charges. Pitt sued Jolie in Feburary over Château Miraval, the vineyard in the South of France the two purchased a controlling stake in in 2008. According to Pitt’s civil complaint, Jolie sold her shares in October without Pitt’s approval. Pitt claimed Jolie sold her stake to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler, whose ownership Pitt said hurt the brand due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. Jolie claimed in a cross suit that Pitt was suing her in retaliation for divorcing him. Pitt and Jolie previously engaged in a drawn out custody battle over their six children.

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