Brad Pitt is maintaining his innocence after his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, alleged that he was abusive toward her and their children during a September 2016 flight from France to California.
“Brad is sick to his stomach that he’s been accused of this. He maintains [that] it’s lies and that Angelina will stop at nothing to ruin his name,” a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly.
The insider continued: “Angelina insists he absolutely did those things, the kids saw it. At the end of the day, he and Angelina seem destined to fight each other for the rest of their lives, or at least until the kids are grown up and there’s nothing left for them to contest. It’s a tragic, toxic situation where neither of them is willing to budge.”
In court documents obtained by Us earlier this month, the 47-year-old Girl, Interrupted actress’ lawyers claimed that Pitt, 58, was “physically and emotionally abusive” throughout the transatlantic flight in question.
“When one of the children verbally defended Jolie, Pitt lunged at his own child and Jolie grabbed him from behind to stop him,” Jolie’s legal team alleged in the documents. “To get Jolie off his back, Pitt threw himself backwards into the airplane’s seats injuring Jolie’s back and elbow. The children rushed in and all bravely tried to protect each other. Before it was over, Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face. Some of the children pleaded with Pitt to stop. They were all frightened. Many were crying.”
The filing also alleges that the Ad Astra star “poured beer on Jolie” and later “poured beer and red wine on the children.” Pitt was investigated for child abuse by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services after the flight but was cleared of the abuse allegations in November 2016.
The Fight Club actor married Jolie in August 2014 at the Chateau Miraval in France, which they purchased together during their relationship. They share six children: Maddox, 21, Pax, 18, Zahara, 17, Shiloh, 16, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 14.
The Maleficent star filed for divorce in September 2016 and a court declared the pair legally single in April 2019. However, their legal disputes are far from over. In addition to their ongoing battle for custody of their minor children, the estranged exes have also clashed over Miraval, a French company which includes the chateau and vineyard where they exchanged vows.
In February, Pitt filed a lawsuit against the Gia star claiming that she had illegally sold her shares of Miraval. “Through the purported sale, Jolie sought to inflict harm on Pitt,” the Ocean’s Eleven actor’s lawyers alleged in the suit.
In a complaint filed earlier this month, Jolie claimed that she gave her ex-husband an opportunity to buy her share, but he would only agree to do so if she signed a nondisclosure agreement “that would have contractually prohibited her from speaking outside of court about Pitt’s physical and emotional abuse of her and their children.”
For more on how Pitt is dealing with the abuse allegations against him, watch the video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
