BRAD’S WORST NIGHTMARE: THE KIDS TESTIFY Against Him!
ANGELINA JOLIE FILES COURT DOCUMENTS ACCUSING BRAD PITT OF DOMESTIC ABUSE — AND PLANS TO CALL THEIR CHILDREN TO THE STAND
Nearly five years after her contentious split from Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie was finally starting to put all the ugliness behind her. “The past few years have been pretty hard. I’ve been focusing on healing our family,” the actress, 45, told British Vogue in February. “But I’m not there yet.”
Definitely not. In one last shocking blow to her ex, Angelina has filed new legal documents promising to “provide proof of [Brad’s] domestic abuse,” supported by “testimony of minor children” — meaning his kids may testify against their own father in court if the judge allows it. “This is Brad’s biggest nightmare — he would never want to put them through that, and she knows it,” a source says of Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. (At 19, Maddox is an adult and has already spoken to the court, but could again.) “Brad can’t believe she’s resorted to dragging them into her obsessive quest to destroy him.”
A DESPERATE MOVE?
Angelina feels she has no other choice, says a friend of hers. “She had hoped to resolve her differences with Brad without bringing this into a courtroom, but it didn’t work out that way,” says the source. Maddox, who was reportedly involved in his parents’ marriage-ending row on a private jet in September 2016, “has given testimony, and it wasn’t very flattering toward Brad,” reveals an insider.
And while Brad, 57, underwent nearly two years of supervised visitation and was cleared of any child abuse allegations, “he has admitted alcohol was a problem for him,” says the insider. “Still, he strongly denies ever hitting Angelina or any of the kids.”
What proof does she have? The filing could be to provide further documentation of what was previously presented from the plane incident “to show why the children don’t feel safe with him,” explains family law expert Evie P. Jeang (who is not involved in the litigation). “Or it could mean it’s a more recent instance of domestic violence.”
In any case, Jeang thinks putting the kids on the stand is a risky move. “This shows they’re really getting desperate,” she says. “Putting the kids in between the fight should be the very last resort.” For one, it could easily backfire for
Angie, notes Jeang, because “Brad also has the opportunity to use them as his witnesses during the cross-examination.”
He’s really hoping it won’t come to that. “Brad believes the court will see through her manipulation tactics as they have done before. This is just a last-ditch effort to force him to back down and cave to her demands,” says the insider, adding that Angelina’s main goal has always been to be able to move the kids away from LA, while Brad prefers them to stay. “She’s stubbornly refusing to compromise, even though it’s clearly not going her way,” adds the source. “She keeps hiring and firing lawyers, which is telling in itself.”
IRREPARABLE RIFT
But the damage may have already been done. “Brad believes Angelina has been trying to turn the kids against him,” says the source. While Brad enjoys a good relationship with his younger ones, his bond with Zahara and Pax is strained, and he and Maddox are no longer speaking, “which is heartbreaking to him,” says the source. “Brad hates that they’re being put through even more trauma, but he feels he has to fight for his kids as a father. He plans to file his own documents showing Angelina is twisting the truth. There’s no way he’s going to let her get away with this.” ċ