BRAD’S DESPERATE PLEA TO ANGIE: LET’S END THIS WAR NOW!
As their battle heads to court, Brad Pitt begs his ex to reach an agreement. Will Angelina Jolie listen?
Pitt begs Jolie to settle their custody battle.
The past five months have been a nightmare for Brad Pitt. Locked in a nasty fight with Angelina Jolie over their six kids, the actor has watched as his ex takes digs at him in interviews and interferes with his visits with some of his children. But through it all, Brad has taken the high road, keeping his eyes on the true prize: joint custody of his kids. Says a Brad insider, “He loves his children more than anything.”
And he’ll do anything to protect them. Brad and Angelina are set to head to family court Dec. 4 for a trial at which some of their six kids — Maddox, 17, Pax, 14, Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 12, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 10 — are expected to testify. The thought of putting his children through that ordeal, the insider says, inspired Brad to put aside his ice-cold relationship with Angelina (they communicate primarily via their attorneys these days) and make a desperate plea for the actress to settle matters out of court. “He reached out hoping to persuade Angie that the hearing will cause lasting psychological damage to their children,” says the insider. “There will be no winners, no matter what the judge decides.”
That’s because things will get ugly as lawyers for Brad, 54, and Angie, 43, square off. (He wants shared custody, while she wants sole physical custody.) Angelina’s lawyers are “going to present evidence that he’s unfit to have joint custody,” says the insider. And Brad’s lawyers will argue that Angelina is “using the kids to get revenge on him.” If they head to court, “this could be one of the most bitter and nasty custody trials ever — with the children used as weapons.”
THE FEUD RAGES ON
Angelina listened to Brad’s recent plea but
wasn’t receptive, says the insider, explaining, “Her concerns focus on his temper and alcohol abuse.” But Brad — who admitted to GQ in 2017 that his drinking was once so out of hand he “could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka” — has worked hard over the past two years to clean up his act, says the insider: “He’s been in therapy and continues to be very active in attending AA meetings.” While a source close to Angelina promises both parties are “working together to reach a settlement outside of court,” the Brad insider insists Angelina’s “not backing down.”
Having sole custody would allow Angelina to make all decisions about the kids. “She wants to resume traveling the world with them,” explains the insider. If she gets her way, the Salt star will “be allowed to do that — without Brad’s approval.” But proceeding with the trial is risky. The pair’s courtappointed evaluator, Dr. Stan Katz, began his work in early October. And according to the insider, “the report is extremely favorable to Brad and states there’s no reason he shouldn’t have joint custody.”
Brad’s only concern is his family. If he can’t persuade Angelina to settle, “the judge is going to want to hear from the children,” says the insider, who notes that Maddox is already on the list of individuals scheduled to testify. The oldest of the Jolie-Pitt clan sided with his mom after her September 2016 divorce filing. “He’s expected to talk about why he doesn’t want to spend any time with his dad,” says the insider. “It’ll likely be incredibly painful for Brad.”
His team is hoping it won’t come to that. “Brad’s proposed allowing the monitors to remain in place for a little longer... in hopes of avoiding the trial,” says the insider. And though it seems unlikely, “Brad and his team are holding out hope for a last-second deal.”