ANGE’S NEW ATTACK ON BRAD
THE ACTOR IS FED UP WITH THE BACK AND FORTH BATTLE WITH HIS EX WIFE SOURCE
This month will mark five years since Angelina Jolie shocked the world by filing for divorce from Brad Pitt just days after an altercation between the actor and his son Maddox on a private plane. But despite their marriage officially ending in April 2019, the battle over the custody of their children continues to rumble on. “Angelina indicated a long time ago that she wouldn’t accept 50/50 custody, and she’s sticking to that,” an insider recently told Star magazine.
The saga continued last month when it was confirmed that Jolie, 46, was successful in disqualifying Judge John W Ouderkirk, claiming he failed to disclose his prior relationship with Pitt. “Judge Ouderkirk is no longer involved and Angelina is grateful to seek a fair decision regarding custody for the children,” a source close to the actress revealed at the time.
But on September 1, the actor’s lawyers issued a fiery response in court asserting that Ouderkirk had been open about his connections to the Mr & Mrs Smith co-stars and had provided multiple disclosures on the matter since January 2017. “Review is warranted to resolve whether an administrative error in failing promptly to disclose additional, immaterial matters involving counsel for a party, years after disclosing a significant history of such matters, requires disqualification,” the court documents stated.
Back in May, the actor was granted joint custody of Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 13 – 20-year-old Maddox is exempt from the ruling – after years of back and forth. But Ouderkirk’s removal could result in the reversal of that ruling, putting Pitt back at square one. “After more than four years of contentious litigation, every day of which has harmed the children and their father, an important and considered custody decision will be entirely undone as a result of an administrative error that is wholly unrelated to the merits of the custody dispute itself,” Pitt’s petition claims.
And the actor’s attorney, Theodore J Boutrous Jnr, didn’t stop there, later releasing a statement that Ouderkirk’s “crafty” removal sets a precedent that will “deprive parents of irreplaceable time with their children”.
“The lower court’s ruling will reward parties who are losing child custody cases, and condone their gamesmanship, by allowing them to wait and see about the likely direction of the case before seeking the disqualification of the judge,” he slammed. “Condoning the use of this type of strategic ‘lie in wait’ disqualification challenge will cause irreparable harm to both the children and families involved in this case.”
Never one to forgo having the last word when it comes to this contentious court battle, Jolie opened up about the proceedings while discussing her new book Know Your Rights with child rights lawyer Geraldine Van Bueren QC and Amnesty International. A guide
“Ange won’t accept 50/50 custody”
for young people on how to claim their own rights, the actress alluded to her own children being denied their right to speak in court in a recent interview with The Guardian.
“I’m still in my own legal situation,” she admitted. “What I know is when a child has been harmed, physically, emotionally, or witnessed the harm of somebody they love or care for, it can cause damage to that child. [I feared] for my family. My whole family,” she continued, before hinting at the incident on the plane that spurred on the divorce proceedings. “I’m not the kind of person who makes decisions like the decisions I had to make lightly. It took a lot for me to be in a position where I felt I had to separate from the father of my children.” Although the couple had seemed happy just months before their shock split in September 2016 and only having officially tied the knot just two years prior to that, Jolie shared that things hadn’t been right for “the last decade”. She referenced Pitt’s decision to work with Harvey Weinstein as a big betrayal, with Pitt allegedly knowing the notorious Hollywood sex offender had come on to her while making the 1998 Miramax rom-com Playing by Heart.
“I never associated or worked with him again. It was hard for me when Brad did,” she divulged. Pitt starred in Inglourious Basterds, co-produced by the Weinstein Company, in 2009, before later approaching Weinstein to work as a producer on thriller Killing Them Softly in 2012. “We fought about it,” she added. “Of course it hurt.”
Although Jolie admitted she can’t go into detail about the ongoing custody dispute, her subtle swipes at Pitt make it clear there is still plenty of animosity between them. Though Jolie maintains the opposite. “It’s not that I want to talk about anything really, because I just want my family to heal,” she told The Guardian. “And I want everyone to move forward – all of us, including their dad. I want us to heal and be peaceful.” With the pair on very different missions – and with seemingly very different tactics – the end of this custody dispute is again out of sight for the stars. And despite what she says, insiders have revealed that Jolie will stop at nothing to see her ex refused the time with his children he so desperately seeks. “She’ll exhaust the court system and drag this thing out,” adds the Star source.