Angelina Jolie’s
Plan to destroy Brad Pitt takes a dramatic turn as their divorce battle gets even nastier
The windows were blocked and barricaded with couch cushions. Security guards were stationed at every entrance. One man was seen patrolling the grounds. Despite the ritzy Malibu setting, it looked like a scene from a war zone. It was. Locked inside the $95,000-a-month rental mansion, along with her six kids, was Angelina Jolie, plotting her next move against their father, Brad Pitt, in what has turned into the ugliest A-list divorce battle ever. Angelina wants sole physical custody of the children and will do anything to get it, says a Brad and Angelina source. Just weeks after her divorce filing — which blindsided Brad and was widely seen as
her attempt to paint him as an unfit parent — Angelina has escalated the battle, claiming she’s doing it all for the sake of her children.
Brad will fight her with everything he’s got. The Department of Children and Family Services investigation, which was launched after an anonymous caller claimed Brad was physically abusive with his kids, is now spilling over into family court, with a brutal face-to-face showdown between Brad and Angelina. “Brad’s fully cooperating with the DCFS investigation because he knows he will be cleared in the end,” says a Brad insider. And he will go into family court and his showdown with Angie armed with a secret weapon: Angelina’s psychiatric records. The Brad insider has suggested that part of Brad’s strategy will be to explore her mental health. “Their showdown,” the Brad insider adds, “is going to be explosive.”
But Angelina, 41, is already creating fireworks. She hired top-notch PR strategist and crisis manager Judy Smith — the woman who inspired the hit TV show Scandal — and Bert Fields and Pierce O’donnell, two of the best attorneys in the country. The lawyers have already warned press outlets to be
While Brad is all alone at his family’s LA compound, Angelina and the kids holed up 45 miles away inside a $95,000-a-month rental property that’s owned by X-men director Bryan Singer. On Sept. 28, the children were briefly spotted running around the 4,409-square-foot home’s lush grounds as bodyguards stood watch. The Bali-inspired estate, which is located atop a high bluff in Malibu’s Point Dume area, has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, plus a one-bed, one-bath guesthouse. Angelina’s brother, James, was also seen roaming the grounds, and on Sept. 26 the kids got a treat when a pizza delivery guy arrived carrying four pies.
careful what they say about Angelina, while continuing to repeat her message that she is acting only in the best interests of her children. On Oct. 1, a report hit saying Angelina won’t cooperate if authorities intend to prosecute Brad, 52, for physically abusing his children. But the truth is, there is no criminal investigation into Brad and no proof of abuse. The Brad insider tells In Touch that Brad’s side strongly believes people close to Angelina planted the report to reinforce a negative impression of Brad, who has been accused of heavy drinking and pot-smoking. But Fields disputes that anyone close to Angelina planted the report and tells In Touch, “If there is a criminal probe, Angelina would have to testify.” The DCFS investigation was launched after Brad was accused of getting physical with his kids on a plane that landed in International Falls, Minn. “But that’s the extent of it,” an insider close to the situation exclusively tells In Touch. “Angelina doesn’t have any hidden bombshells to produce, no drawer of photos of herself beaten up.”
Brad has already scored one huge victory. “He tested negative for pot, illegal substances and booze in the voluntary drug test he took as part of the DCFS abuse investigation,” says the Brad insider. “He knew there was nothing to hide, and that’s why he took it.” Brad, adds the insider close to the situation, “knows DCFS will conclude he’s not an abuser, and if Angelina still doesn’t back down and give him joint physical custody of their kids, he will fight for sole physical custody.”
Angelina can no longer keep Brad from his kids. DCFS, which brokered a three-week deal with the former power couple on Sept. 30, will allow Brad to see Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8, with a therapist present. (The Brad insider tells In Touch that Brad volunteered to have a therapist present at the meeting to prove he has nothing to hide.) One source claims that sent Angelina over the edge. “She had a fit when she learned Brad is
Brad’s complying with everything. He’ll prove he’s not the villain Angie is portraying him to be”
— A BRAD AND ANGIE SOURCE