Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s fight over the French winery they once owned together is coming to a head and reigniting older conflicts.
New legal documents filed by the actress allege a “history of physical abuse” on the part of Pitt before their fateful plane ride in 2016, when Pitt allegedly became physically and verbally aggressive towards Jolie and their children.
Late last week, Jolie filed a motion with the Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that she attempted to sell Pitt her stake in the Miraval winery.
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She claimed their negotiations ultimately broke down after Pitt conditioned the sale on Jolie signing an NDA that “prohibited Jolie from speaking (other than in court) about Pitt’s abuse of Jolie and their children by attempting to tie Pitt’s personal reputation to Miraval’s business.”
This week’s new filing stems from Pitt’s 2022 lawsuit, in which he claimed that he and Jolie had an agreement that neither would sell their stake in the winery without the other’s consent.
In a June 2023 filing, he alleged that Jolie’s sale of her stake in the winery was “vindictive” after an “adverse custody ruling.”
Jolie also claims in the filing that Pitt’s “history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family’s September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles,” but does not go into further detail about the alleged prior abuse.
“At trial, Jolie will prove through testimony, emails, photographs, and other evidence why Pitt was so concerned about his own misconduct that he blew up his own deal to purchase Jolie’s interest in Miraval because she refused to agree to his new, expansive NDA,” the filing reads.
Jolie claims in the filing that she agreed to sign an NDA that was “limited to not disparaging Miraval’s wine business” as part of her initial deal to sell Pitt her stake in the winery, which they were close to finalising at the time.
Pitt had previously claimed in his June 2023 amended complaint that after Jolie would not agree to sign his NDA, she proposed an even broader NDA that “would have provided that “other than in court pleadings or testimony, neither party shall directly nor through a party’s representatives make in a public forum any derogatory remark about the other party.”
“Mr Pitt refused to purchase Ms Jolie’s interest when she would not be silenced by his NDA,” Paul Murphy, Jolie’s attorney, told CNN in a statement on Thursday.
“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.”
Jolie never ended up pressing charges against Pitt in relation to the 2016 altercation, according to the filing because she believed “the best course was for Pitt to accept responsibility and help the family recover from the post-traumatic stress he caused.”
Pitt was not arrested or charged in connection with the 2016 incident after the FBI completed its investigation.
A representative for Pitt disputed Jolie’s account of that incident included in an October 2022 filing.
Pitt’s representative said in a statement to CNN at the time that “Brad has accepted responsibility for what he did, but will not for things he didn’t do”.
In October 2021, Jolie sold her half of the winery to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group, controlled by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler.
The ongoing legal proceedings and “Pitt’s unyielding attempts to control and punish Jolie continue to take a huge emotional and financial toll on her and their family,” the filing reads.
“Jolie longs for their family to be able to heal and their children to be spared further pain and trauma, and truly wishes Pitt would want the same too.”
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016.
They were declared legally single in 2019, and a joint custody arrangement was established in 2021.
Legal proceedings as they pertain to the Miraval dispute also remain ongoing.
The former couple purchased the country estate and winery in the south of France in 2008.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.
In an emergency, call 000.
Advice and counselling for men concerned about their use of family violence: Men’s Referral Service, 1300 766 491.
