The actress alleges that Pitt choked one of their children and poured beer on her
Angelina Jolie has alleged that Brad Pitt physically and verbally abused her and their children on a 2016 private plane flight from France to California.
In a cross-complaint filed on Tuesday as part of an ongoing legal battle over Chateau Miraval, the French winery that the celebrity couple once co-owned, the actress shared details of the alleged abuse. Both parties, who purchased Chateau Miraval in 2008 and married there in 2014, shared differing accounts of how negotiations for the sale fell through.
Jolie’s latest filing went on to describe an extended physical and verbal outburst in September 2016 during a private flight. According to the New York Times, the Fight Club star began shouting and accusing Jolie of being “too deferential to the children” and then “pulled her into the bathroom”.
“Pitt then punched the ceiling of the plane numerous times, prompting Jolie to leave the bathroom,” the papers read. After one child verbally intervened, Pitt allegedly “lunged at his own child”. When Jolie “grabbed him from behind to stop him”, Pitt reportedly “threw himself backwards into the airplane’s seats injuring Jolie’s back and elbow”.
Additionally, “Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face” and “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her”, the court papers allege. They add that at one point “he poured beer on Jolie; at another, he poured beer and red wine on the children.” Jolie’s lawyers say she and her children “sat still and silent under blankets” for the remainder of the flight.
The incident was investigated by the FBI and no charges were brought against Pitt.
Just days after the journey, Jolie filed for divorce.
These new details about the abuse allegations have arisen as a result of an ongoing legal tussle between Pitt and Jolie over Chateau Miraval. In February, Pitt sued Jolie and her former company, alleging that she violated his “contractual expectations” when she sold her interest in the wine company to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group. According to his lawsuit, the former couple had a mutual understanding that neither party would sell its share of the Chateau Miraval without the other’s consent.
Last month, Jolie’s former company, which is now owned by Stoli Group, countersued Pitt, rebutting his version of events and his claim that the sale constituted a “hostile takeover.”
In Jolie’s own countersuit, filed on Tuesday, she alleged that part of the reason she opted to sell her share of the wine business was because she was increasingly uncomfortable with participating in an alcohol-related business, given her ex-husband’s “acknowledged problem of alcohol abuse.” Her filing also argued that there was no written or verbal understanding like the one Pitt described. She added that Pitt had actually rejected the idea that there needed to be a plan in case their relationship ended.
Pitt has denied the allegations.
