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Angelina Jolie’s team of lawyers is going after her ex Brad Pitt again!
In a motion filing obtained by People magazine, Jolie’s legal team claims that Pitt was abusive to her, even before the infamous 2016 plane incident that led to their split.
Amid their legal war over their French winery Château Miraval, the court papers were filed to request the release of communications that allegedly prove that Pitt wouldn’t allow Jolie to sell her portion of the winery to him until she agreed to sign a “more onerous” and “expansive” NDA.
The papers stated, “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.”
Pitt and Jolie share six children: Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15.
Though Pitt’s reps have declined to comment on the court filing, a source close to the actor told People magazine, “This is a pattern of behavior — whenever there is a decision that goes against the other side they consistently choose to introduce misleading, inaccurate and/or irrelevant information as a distraction.”
The insider added, “There was a lengthy custody trial that involved the entire history of their relationship and a judge who heard all the evidence still granted him 50/50 custody.”
Her legal team argues that Pitt wanted an NDA to prevent sealed documents from being made public and “contractually bind [Jolie] to that silence” about his alleged “personal misconduct, whether related to Miraval or not.”
Her lawyers wrote, “Jolie’s sealed filing, which included emails, summaries of the family’s expected testimony, and other evidence, caused Pitt to fear that the information could eventually become public.”
Jolie’s lawyer Paul Murphy told People magazine, “Mr. Pitt refused to purchase Ms. Jolie’s interest when she would not be silenced by his NDA. 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. After eight months of delays, this motion asks the Court to force Mr. Pitt to finally produce that evidence.”
Another source close to Jolie told People that she “does not want to be raising any of these facts, and she is doing it only because Pitt’s lawsuit against her is forcing her to defend herself.”
The insider continued, “If this does go to trial, [Jolie] will be forced to use that evidence in the trial whether she wants to or not.”
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Brad Pitt vs. Angelina Jolie: New Bombshells About the Battle Over Their French Château
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Last year, Pitt’s legal team pointed the finger at Jolie, saying it was she who wanted an “even broader non-disparagement clause” in the deal.
Pitt’s team said, “The clause also made clear that there would be no limitation on Jolie’s ability to speak in connection with Pitt and Jolie’s divorce or custody proceedings. It specifically provided: This commitment shall however not limit the ability, for any Party, to make any claims, filings, or testimony in any legal proceedings.”