Could that be a smirk on your lips, Jen?
Pitt’s ex hits the town as his battle with Jolie gets uglier
STEPPING out in New York, Jennifer Aniston looks barely able to suppress a smile.
Eleven years ago the actress’s marriage to Brad Pitt ended amid claims he had an affair with Angelina Jolie.
Now Pitt, 52, is in the midst of his second Hollywood divorce as he locks horns with Miss Jolie over accusations of domestic violence.
Miss Jolie is represented by lawyer Laura Wasser, known as the queen of celebrity divorces, while Pitt has hired Lance Spiegel, whose past clients include Michael Jackson and Charlie Sheen.
Pitt has made clear to friends that he is determined to challenge his estranged wife’s demand that she gets sole physical custody of their six children, leaving him with only visitation rights.
A source was quoted as saying the divorce fight has left him ‘distraught, pacing, nervous’ and ‘scared of losing his kids over something that he hasn’t done… he is far from a bad father’.
The Pitt and Jolie camps yesterday fought over the details of a furious row on the family’s private jet last week as they flew back to Los Angeles from their French home.
It is this incident that reportedly prompted Miss Jolie, 41, to file for divorce after months of growing tension.
Though friends say she was concerned about Pitt’s consumption of alcohol and marijuana, she has insisted her decision to end their relationship was ‘for the health of the family’.
Following an anonymous complaint, the argument is being investigated by the Los Angeles County’s department of children and family services, as well as the FBI, which handles incidents in the air. The FBI said it was ‘continuing to gather facts and will evaluate whether an investigation at the federal level will be pursued’.
Miss Jolie’s friends say Pitt crossed a line by lunging at their oldest child, Maddox, during the argument. It is alleged he and Miss Jolie began arguing after the plane took off from refuelling in Minnesota when Maddox, 15, jumped up to take his mother’s side.
Pitt allegedly lunged at the boy, prompting Miss Jolie to jump between them, but Pitt still made contact with his son.
The Mail has previously been told by insiders that Pitt has long had a difficult relationship with Maddox, whom Miss Jolie adopted in Cambodia in 2002 when she was married to second husband Billy Bob Thornton.
Sources say Pitt struggles to keep the family under control while Miss Jolie is more easygoing with the children, who are aged from eight to 15.
But a source in the Pitt camp said: ‘Teenagers have fights with their parents, especially when you have teens who are strong-willed and confident.
‘You’re going to have back and forth.’ Claims by Pitt’s side that there was no physical confrontation with Maddox appear to be supported by a video reportedly of the altercation. Someone claiming to have seen it told Us Weekly that Pitt was ‘looking drunk’ and ‘yelling a lot’ but ‘nothing physical’ occurred.
One of Pitt’s friends said that the claims were ‘exaggerated and fabricated’ and ‘part of an endless smear campaign that hurts everyone’.
Friends star Miss Aniston, who married director Justin Theroux last year, was seen in New York on Thursday as she arrived at a flat in the city.
The 47-year- old would not comment on her ex-husband’s divorce when asked.
‘An endless smear campaign’